Here are your latest Nottingham Forest headlines on the morning of Wednesday, 22 March.
Forest leaning toward transfer decision
Nottingham Forest are not expected to make Renan Lodi’s loan move permanent in the summer, according to reports in Spain.
The full-back joined Forest in the summer, signing a season-long loan deal from Atletico Madrid. The loan includes an option to make the move permanent in the summer for a fee of around €30million (£26.3m).
Lodi has been a regular in Steve Cooper ’s starting line up in the Premier League so far this season, and looks set to play a key role in the club’s fight to stay in the division at the end of the season. But it seems that his future may not lie at the City Ground.
As reported by Revelo journalist Mateo Moretto , "the signs" point to Forest taking the decision not to exercise the buy option in Lodi’s deal at the end of the season, meaning the player will return to Atletico at the end of the season. The journalist adds that the clause in the full-back’s deal with Forest is an option to buy and not an obligation.
Grimaldo
Benfica have not given up on holding onto defender Alejandro Grimaldo amid reports linking him with a free transfer to Nottingham Forest and Fulham.
The Spanish left-back's contract with the Portuguese outfit expires this summer and it seems likely that he will leave the club when it does. With the player set to become a free agent clubs from the Premier League and across Europe have signalled their interest, including the Reds.
But Benfica have reportedly put Operation Renewal into action as they try to get Grimaldo to sign a contract extension, according to A Bola (via SportWitness). It is claimed that he has not committed to any club for now as he assesses his options.
The Portuguese newspaper reports that Grimaldo is leaving the door open to potentially remaining at Benfica. But there is "still distance" between what the former Barcelona prospect is demanding and what the club are offering.
Johnson injury worry
Wales fear Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson will miss part or all of their opening Euro 2024 qualifiers due to injury.
Johnson had been a doubt going into Friday’s Premier League clash with Newcastle United, with Steve Cooper saying he only had a small chance of playing, having come off with a groin issue in the 3-1 defeat at Tottenham. The 21-year-old did play and completed the entire 90 minutes as Newcastle snatched a 2-1 win thanks to Alexander Isak’s last-gasp penalty.
However, Wales have revealed Johnson will not join up with the squad until Thursday, just two days before the toughest game in their group, away to Croatia, on Saturday night. Rob Page’s side then host Latvia in Cardiff on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Forest do not escape criticism as Wolves are slammed for Carabao Cup bust-up
“Brennan Johnson is due to join on Thursday for further assessment with the medical team,” reported the official @Cymru twitter account.
Forest reprimanded
Nottingham Forest have been criticised by the FA for not doing enough to ensure their players conduct themselves in an orderly fashion.
The remarks were made as the governing body issued its verdict on the bust-up at the end of Carabao Cup clash against Wolves in January. Forest won the game on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
At the end of the tie, there was fracas after Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui and player Matheus Cunha confronted Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, who had celebrated in front of his former club’s fans at the end of the game. Following a probe into the clash, an FA independent regulatory commission said Lopetegui was "unprofessional" in attempting to approach Gibbs-White and also accused Cunha of "using aggression" and pushing the Forest man.
The FA’s written reasons said: “We are unanimous in our view that Wolves bear a significantly higher responsibility for this mass confrontation. It was the extremely ill-judged action and timing of Julen Lopetegui approaching Morgan Gibbs-White to remonstrate with him that was the catalyst for what followed.”
However, the commission also criticised Forest for “doing very little to address this sort of behaviour” following similar confrontations in previous seasons.
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