Nottingham Forest are fighting for Championship promotion but their Premier League dreams could have come true if they had lured Glenn Murray from Brighton.
Jermaine Jenas thinks Glenn Murray would have been a fine addition to Nottingham Forest’s squad with the veteran striker now back in favour at Brighton and Hove Albion, speaking to BT Sport (8 February, 5.30pm).
For a while at least, it looked for all the world that a modern-day club legend was on his way out of the Amex.
Murray had found the net 25 times in two Premier League seasons under Chris Hughton but once Graham Potter took over, and championed the high-octaine qualities of Neal Maupay and Aaron Connolly, the 36-year-old found himself relegated to the bench.
An old-school targetman doesn’t exactly fit Potter’s free-flowing style, after all, and The Sun (page 63, January 12) reported that Nottingham Forest were willing to hand Brighton’s £3 million star a fresh start with Sabri Lamochi’s side hoping to join Brighton in the Premier League next season.
By the end of the transfer window, with The Seagulls dropping like a stone, Murray had forced his way back into the starting XI, however, and Forest were forced to look elsewhere.
“It’s a shame. Forest could have done with him as well,” said former England international Jenas, who started his career in Garibaldi red.
Fortunately for the two-time European champions, Lewis Grabban has enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career to fire Nottingham Forest into contention for the automatic promotion places.
The addition of Murray, however, could have pushed them across the line. He is one of the most feared strikers in the division’s history after all with his 30 goals for Crystal Palace in 2012/13 still a Championship-record tally.
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