Does Nottingham Forest’s left-back search make a mockery of Pinillos release?

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Championship giants Nottingham Forest are desperately trying to bring a left-back to the City Ground, while Dani Pinillos is at Barnsley instead.

Nottingham Forest may have signed six players on transfer deadline day but they have still been forced to root through the free-agents market in order to fill the void created by their lack of left-backs.

According to the Nottingham Post, Forest were considering signing former Manchester City and Norwich defender Javier Garrido on a free.

And the Sun report that Aitor Karanka is now considering a deal for fellow Spaniard Juan Fuentes. The 28-year-old is an experienced full-back who has represented Osasuna, Cordoba and Espanyol in La Liga and could earn a contract at Forest if he impresses his potential new manager.

But Forest would not have to resort to such desperate measures if they had decided to keep hold of Dani Pinillos at the end of last season.

The highly-rated Spaniard had enjoyed an excellent few months at the end of the 2016/17 season after overcoming a series of injury problems and quickly became a fans’ favourite; not least for a fantastic, last-gasp equaliser in March’s draw with Derby County.

Eyebrows were raised, then, when he was released by Mark Warburton in May with the club unable to agree on a new contract.

And, via a short spell at Cordoba, Pinillos returned to English shores in January with Barnsley. If he can stay fully fit and firing at Oakwell, Forest will surely be glancing towards South Yorkshire with a great deal of envy.

After all, Forest should not need to be spending their time trying to pick up a Spanish left-back outside of the transfer window. They let a perfectly good one slip through their grasp.