The amazement thatNottingham Forestare 90 minutes from Champions League qualification is wearing off. The reality is a victory over Chelsea and another top-five rival dropping points would leave them facing the continent’s elite for the first time in more than 40 years.
Nuno Espírito Santo deserves a lot of credit for moulding the squad into his vision of a hard-working defensive unit that is lethal on the counterattack. When he arrived, everything was far from perfect but he used what was available to create a formidable front four. One of those players, the left-winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, had arrived from Sunday’s opponents after his Stamford Bridge career stalled.
Hudson-Odoi was once tipped to be an England regular but things had gone wrong for him. Forest were able to sign him for an initial £3m because Chelsea wanted him off the books and doubted he could recapture the form that madehelped him become the youngest player to get his debut for England in a competitive match, aged 18.
By the time his loan at Bayer Leverkusen ended two years ago, he was stuck at a crossroads, with no obvious pathway back into the Chelsea first team. The offer to join the 16th-best team in the Premier League on deadline day was the best available. His former England Under-17s coach Steve Cooper being in the dugout helped smooth the transition, in the hope he would help recapture Hudson-Odoi’s best form.
It made sense in terms of risk. With Cooper seeking additional width, Anthony Elanga was another forced to drop down the table with a point to prove. The Sweden international had been deemed inferior to the £85.6m Antony at Manchester United and was pushed to the exit door. Elanga has shown himself to be one of the best direct runners in the country, terrifying full-backs, and was the subject of interest from Newcastle last summer, but the Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, was unwilling to sell. Antony is now on loan at Real Betis, with United sitting 16th.
After the first year of chaos in recruitment, this more methodical approach to find value in the market, targeting castoffs, has paid dividends. From that first summer when everyone with a pulse was signed, only Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White started the most recent game,against West Ham.
Last season was tumultuous for everyone at the club. Cooper was replaced by Nuno in December 2023 with Forest in a relegation battle that lasted until the final day. Hudson-Odoi was still trying to get back to full fitness, waiting for his body to be capable of coping with the rigours of the Premier League, and did not complete 90 minutes until late January. By the end of the season, he was flying, scoring two goals ina victory at Sheffield Unitedto all but seal survival.
Considering how early Hudson-Odoi started his career, making his Premier League debut as a 17-year-old, it is often forgotten that he is still only 24 with his best years surely ahead of him. He can again trust his body after an achilles injury left him feeling niggles and proved difficult to overcome mentally. Forest gave him the time to get up to speed and he is reaping the benefits, working in tandem with Elanga.
After a full pre-season under Nuno, neither Forest nor Hudson-Odoi has needed to reminisce about past glories. There is greater emphasis on wing play, helping get the best out of Hudson-Odoi and Elanga. Hudson-Odoi’s trademark goal, cutting in from the left and finding the far corner with his right foot, has gotthe better of the Premier League champions, Liverpool, and a few others on the way to Sunday’s Champions League shootout.
The focus on undervalued players of a good age has continued. The return of George Syrianos as technical director, having consulted on the deals in 2023, and the arrival of Pedro Ferreira as chief scout have brought further calm to the recruitment process. Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic are two that fit a similar pattern, brought in with limited fanfare but at the heart of a team surpassing expectations. Brentford and Brighton are often seen as the benchmark for recruitment but this season Forest have outperformed them.
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A similar process will continue this summer of looking at domestic players brought through Premier League academies. The Ipswich pair Liam Delap and Leif Davis, Southampton’s Tyler Dibling and the Manchester City midfielder James McAtee have been shortlisted but Forest face plenty of competition. The club’s record of improving players such as Hudson-Odoi and Elanga makes them feel they can be competitive in negotiations.
In a crowded marketplace where homegrown players are at a premium, Forest’s track record is making them more attractive to potential signings. Where other clubs’ stockpiling of players and bloated squads mean minutes on the pitch can be limited, Nuno has used the fewest players in the Premier League, meaning those at the City Ground receive plenty of chances to impress.
Elanga haspunished United this season, scoring the winner in April, and Hudson-Odoi has the opportunity to inflict a bigger blow on his former employers on Sunday. The pair have thrived under Nuno after being bit-part players elsewhere.
If Forest achieve what felt impossible a year ago and reach the Champions League – or even if they do not – others will be eager to follow in the footsteps of Hudson-Odoi and Elanga because there is no doubt this is a club on an upward trajectory.