Nottingham Forest made a ridiculous number of signings this summer, and after their woeful start to the Premier League season, we can’t help but feel that a few players may already be questioning their decision to head to the City Ground.
Jesse Lingard must be kicking himself for joining Forest. Not only is he now embroiled in a relegation battle, the midfielder isn’t even a guaranteed starter for the Reds, with Morgan Gibbs-White starting ahead of him most weeks.
However, it may not just be Lingard who is regretting his move to the East Midlands.
Indeed, while Taiwo Awoniyi has been brilliant for Forest since arriving on Trentside, there’s the feeling that he’s made a mistake in joining the Tricky Trees.
Unlike Lingard, this isn’t regarding his Gametime or his form, it’s to do with the fortunes of his former club.
Awoniyi was Union Berlin’s star man last season, and while they’ve only been back in the Bundesliga for two years, they’re absolutely flying.
Indeed, while last season’s fifth-place finish looked like something of a fluke from the outside looking in, the club from the German capital are proving already this term that they’re ready to challenge for the Champions League spots – or even the title.
Union sit at the very top of the Bundesliga as the only unbeaten side in the division so far, and with the likes of Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen faltering, there’s no reason why they can’t challenge for the title.
Yes, Bayern have had a stranglehold on German football for a decade, but let’s not forget in the late 2000s we had a number of different champions in Germany, and with Robert Lewandowski’s departure, Bayern aren’t the same force they once were.
Awoniyi has swapped a potential title challenge in Germany for a relegation battle in England, and it’s hard to imagine he’s not at least a little bit envious when he looks at how his former club are getting on.
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