With all the glamour associated with the Premier League transfer market, its embarrassment of riches and exponential escalation of fees, it is easy to overlook temporary deals without a transfer fee tagline.
Yet, the loan market is arguably just as much of an important arena to flourish within.
Forest fans should know this already, having witnessed hugely successful loan spells from James Garner, Keinan Davis and Djed Spence during the promotion season, followed by the fruitful periods enjoyed by Dean Henderson and Renan Lodi last campaign.
Of course, outgoing loan players are also worth keeping a keen eye on – many of the current first team were able to succeed off the back of successful loan spells, look no further than the club’s recent record sale for proof of that!
It is in this area that the Reds have arguably excelled this summer – for a multitude of reasons.
One of which is the platform afforded to the likes of Dale Taylor, who has joined Wycombe Wanderers, where he has featured heavily in all five of their opening league fixtures thus far, scoring a crucial late goal in their first victory over Leyton Orient, following a tricky start. His strike partnership with former Burnley and Wales striker, Sam Vokes, is one that he will doubtless learn from.
Another positive aspect regards the maintenance of talent rumoured to be exiting on a permanent basis, particularly in the case of Jonathan Panzo, whose successful loan move to Coventry City last season, reaching the play off final, attracted interest with a £2m bid reportedly arriving from Rangers.
However, Forest were able to strike a loan agreement for the young defender to join Cardiff City where he will join another Reds loanee, Josh Bowler, ensuring a pipeline of Championship talent remains on the books at Trentside.
A third aspect of the loan market that is pleasing from a Forest perspective likely enabled much of the business which has attracted the headlines. Namely, much of the wage bill has been freed up through offloading Gustavo Scarpa, Remo Freuler, Lewis O’Brien, Omar Richards Emmanuel Dennis and Jonjo Shelvey – utilising the longevity of the Turkish window in the latter cases.
With unquestionable exceptions, many of these exits have been in no short part presupposed by shenanigans away from the field, whether they involve Cryptocurrency, tinder mishaps or an excessive role in last season’s omnishambles in the injury department. While many may have preferred a permanent departure, the contract length and salary of many of those leaving on loan renders their temporary rehoming a positive for Forest, no doubt.
And all this without mention of those hoping to become the next in a growing list of successful loan spells in the Garibaldi.
Nuno Tavares and Gonzalo Montiel join as reinforcements in the full back positions, bringing a wealth of top-level experience at Benfica, Arsenal, Sevilla, Marseille and at national level between them – no less the winning penalty in the World Cup final!
Adding to this sparkling highlights show-reel the Forest squad could amass is Divock Origi, whose goal in the Champions League final for Liverpool was just one of many that made him such a cult figure Merseyside. His addition will provide cover for the free-scoring Taiwo Awoniyi which was so painfully absent during the Nigerian’s period of injury in the opening months of 2023.
The impending African Cup of Nations added to the need for Forest to secure the addition of another striker to avoid leaving Steve Cooper in a similarly unfavourable position as last season, without any out-and-out strike options.
Lastly, Forest added Andrey Santos to their midfield ranks, on loan from Chelsea, who featured during the 1-0 cup loss at home to Burnley, where he showed periodic signs of promise as a player with a much-needed ability to progress the ball through the thirds. Steve Cooper will hope the 19-year-old Brazilian will be the next on a long list of youngsters that the Welshman has helped to flourish.
While the permanent business that Forest completed would leave only the most insatiable among us wanting more, the loan market has been navigated with a quiet precision and has no doubt acted as a financial enabler for the ambitious moves made for Ibrahim Sangare and others.
*Article provided by James Scott (Nottingham Forest Correspondent).
*Main image @NFFC Emmanuel Dennis is one player loaned out recently.
