At least Nottingham Forest still have Chris Wood.
And where would they be without him? The New Zealand international’s 14 goals last season was perhaps the biggest reason why Nottingham Forest avoided a return to the dreaded Championship.
And with two in three already this term – only an offside flag denied him a brace during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Wolves – Wood is once again emerging as the greatest goalscoring threat in Nuno Espirito Santo’s armoury.
Another stellar season for Wood, then, would go some way to offsetting a frustrating end to the summer window at the City Ground.
Nottingham Forest, HITC understands, had entered advanced talks with Omar Marmoush before the £33 million-rated hitman opted to stay put at Eintracht Frankfurt. They missed out on Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace too, while Brentford rebuffed their advances for Yoane Wissa.
Santiago Gimenez, meanwhile, took the Marmoush route himself.
Santiago Gimenez picked Feyenoord over Nottingham Forest
HITC reported in late-August that Forest had agreed a fee worth £28 million – rising to £30 million – with Feyenoord for their Mexican poacher.
But, as Feyenoord director Dennis te Kloese now tells ESPN, Gimenez always had reservations about swapping Champions League football at De Kuip for a potential relegation dogfight in England’s East Midlands.
“I think that Santi has shown in the past two years that he is a very important player for Feyenoord,” Te Kloese says of a striker who has scored 53 goals in 90 matches since arriving from Cruz Azul.
“The statistics speak for him. I think that he had a fantastic first half of the season last year, (which made him) very valuable (to other clubs) in the second half of the season. I think that the expectation was that several clubs outside of Nottingham Forest would come.”
With all due respect to the two-time European champions, the belief was that Gimenez would receive offers from clubs a little higher up the footballing ladder.
HITC understands that the 23-year-old was a target for Tottenham Hotspur before Ange Postecoglou’s side turned to Bournemouth talisman Dominic Solanke. There had also been links with Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Napoli and more.
Eredivisie winner might not have suited Forest
“I think that he was not 100 per cent convinced about Nottingham Forest,” adds Te Kloese. “And we, as a club were not 100 per cent convinced about a transfer to Nottingham Forst.
“And that is why we decided to sit down with him and his management (and say); ‘Well, we are just going to continue.’
“We have a lot of obligations. Eredivisie, Champions League, the cup. (Gimenez) is also moving into a different role. Perhaps a bit more of a leadership role.
“I am not sad about it at all. And on the other hand, I cannot just respond to every (bit of) interest from every club abroad and just throw players out the door.”
Did Nottingham Forest potentially dodge a very expensive bullet, however, when Gimenez became the latest centre-forward to snub a summer switch?
Pierre van Hooijdonk, who himself played both at the City Ground and the Eredivisie, believes that Gimenez was not cut out for the physicality of the Premier League.
What’s more, his form during much of 2024 has been – to quote Feyenoord legend Willem van Hanegem – pretty ‘mediocre’.
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