Nottingham Forest’s injury situation will have an impact on the club’s plans for January as the transfer window nears.
Long-term absentees Omar Richards (hairline fracture of the leg) and Moussa Niakhate (hamstring) have been joined on the sidelines by fellow defender Giulian Biancone, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. Additionally, midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate is expected to be out of action for at least the next two months after suffering a torn hamstring during Senegal’s opening match at the World Cup.
The Reds have already brought in Brazilian Gustavo Scarpa, whose contract will officially start on January 1. But owner Evangelos Marinakis has said making “at least” two further signings will be on the cards.
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Next month will not be anywhere near as busy as the summer, when 22 new faces arrived at the City Ground. However, strengthening attacking resources is a priority, and being without key players going into a crucial part of the season means Forest are expected to look at bolstering their ranks in midfield and at centre-back.
Ahead of next Tuesday’s trip to face Manchester United, boss Steve Cooper said: “It won’t be the same volume of players coming in as the summer! The transfer window is going to open soon, and we, like every club, will be looking at what may be possible and what may be right to do.
“There’s a little bit more interest in what we do because of what happened in the summer - the numbers, the changes and the turnaround. But we can’t pay attention to that. We have to deal with the here and now, treat the transfer window for what it is - and that’s an opportunity to strengthen and improve the squad, if we think that’s what we need to do.
“What’s worth saying with us is, unfortunately we picked up a long-term injury at the World Cup, in Cheikhou. Moussa Niakhate is still not back with us and neither is Omar Richards, and they are players we hoped would have been close to returning by now. We have to take all of that into account.
“Just because we had a busy summer transfer window doesn’t mean we won’t be able to do anything in this window. But at the same time, we have got to make decisions which we think are right for the squad going forward for the last stage of the season. That’s what we’ll focus on.”
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