Nottingham Forest will regret Luke Chambers failure; especially after Mick McCarthy comments

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The 31-year-old looked set to return to Nottingham Forest in January but now appears certain to stay at Ipswich Town.

There is never a good time to suffer an injury crisis. However, with Nottingham Forest’s defence reduced to the bare bones just a few weeks after the transfer window shut, caretaker manager Gary Brazil has a right to feel a little frustrated, even more so now his number one January target will remain where he is, the Ipswich Star reports.

Decent displays from Joe Worrall and Danny Fox at the heart of a makeshift back line were not enough to prevent Sheffield Wednesday triumphing 2-1 at the City Ground on Saturday with Michael Mancienne, Jack Hobbs and Matt Mills still unavailable. Furthermore, Damien Perquis is out of favour while the less said about Thomas Lam the better.

And to rub salt into another Forest wound, Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy says he expects Luke Chambers to remain at Portman Road next season, just two weeks after he was on the verge of a return to the City Ground.

According to Sky Sports, the versatile 31-year-old, the former Forest captain who made over 200 appearances for the club, was in talks over a move to Brazil’s struggling side on a two-and-a-half-year deal in January with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.

However, McCarthy appears to have dashed Forest’s hopes of enhancing their defensive options.

“He has not got a contract here, although if he is playing at centre-half, I would expect he would get one now – we have discussed that,” the Yorkshireman told the Ipswich Star of Chambers, who has helped Ipswich take points off Brighton, Reading and Leeds this month.

“[The Forest offer] would have had his head turned a bit [but] he has been brilliant. He is top-class as a professional and a captain and I can’t speak highly enough of him.”

Chambers, an experienced, reliable figure who knows this combustible club inside out, would have been an ideal addition in January. However, Brazil must find a way to soldier on with the reduced options at his disposal.