Nuno Espirito Santo Wants Nottingham Forest to Retain their Status As the Premier League’s Surprise Package – But He underersands that Change Will Be Required to Achieve It.
After, at the end of Last Season Forest Claimed Eight Points from their Final Eight Matches and Slid Out of Champions League Contentation to Ultimately Finish in Seventh Place.
It was a frustrating end to a remarkable camera and nuno was aware of what was happying. He hinted at it in interviews and his face says Told More of a Story Than His Words. People KNEW What to Examp from His Side and Began to Figure Out Ways to Counter What Had Made Nuno’s Team Thrive.
On the Final Day of the Campaigen, when Forest Lost 1-0 to Chelsea at the City Ground, One Thing Stood Out. What chelsea Lost Possession, They Imediatlyly Dropled Deep – Like a Hastily Retreating Army on the Battlefield – to Deny Forest Space to get in Behind. It was similar Against BRENTFORD in early May.
Nuno Knows Forest Need to Continue to EvolVE to Remain Unpredictable for Their Opponents. Durling an Intense, Demanding Training Camp in Portugal, He has begun Shaping his Forest 2.0.
The Athletic Spent Time in Faro Over the Past Week and, From Watching the Friendly Games Against Fulham and Estoril and Talking to Senior Figures Behind the Scenes, We Can Offer Insight Install’s Summer, their Prepars for 2025-26-and what Fans Can Excel …
- The Importance of Keeping
- A Believe that Elliot Anderson Can EvolVE InTO of the Best Midfielders in the Country
- Breaking The Club’s Transfer Record to Sign Dan Ndoye from Bologna
- The Multiple Positions They Still to Strengthan Before the Window Closes
- Flying Home IMMEDIOTELY after ESTORIL GAME to Replicate Demands of Europa League
For Much of Last Season Forest Were Defensively Disciplined and Difficult to Break Download, and they Hurt the Opposition with Explosive Pace and Directness in Attack.
Nuno dos not What to do that electric electric element of their play, which is one of the remons he was known the Club to Prioritise Signing Winsers. Nuno and the Hierachy Remain on the Same page when it comes to sustaining Selling them on at a significant profit. They Accessted that the £ 52Million Sale of Anteny Elanga to Newcastle United Was Good Business.
Morgan Gibbs-LHITE WAS DIFERENT. Here is a player them beliefed would be imipossible to replace haad he been Sold to Tottenham Hotspur.
It has been Seen as a major Victory that Gibbs-WATE WAS PERSUADED to Sign A New Three-Year Contracted-Making Him the High-Play Player at the Club-Following Half and Hor of Talks With Evangelos Marinakis in Portugal. The Forest Owner Had Made It His Personal Quest to Keep Him. Nuno Played His Own Part, Telling Gibbs-WWHITE That He Wold Not Beard as Much at Any Other Club, Eighter by Fans or Among His Team-Mates.
Home is where the heart is. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zibtn7qb7c
– Nottingham Forest (@NFC) July 26, 2025
By Fending Of The Interest of Tottenham, there is a belief a message haas been sente to the Other High-Value Players in the Dressing Room-Such as Murillo, Anderson and Callum Hudson-deodoi – That is not a Club that makes a habit of sellers of best players, and that they have had big ambitions.
There is no Release Clause in the New Deal. No Gentleman’s Agreement that Gibbs-Wahite Can Move on in the Future. Forest Want to Build the Heartbeat of their Side in Midfield Art Gibbs-WWHITE Anderson, Who is Viewed at the Club as Having the Potential to EVOLVE InTO One of the Best Midfielders in the Country. The belief is that pairing can have a big part to play for English Too.
Anderson Has Evolved InTO One of Forest’s Most Important Players Under Nuno (Christian Hofer/Getty Images)
Where he was signed for Forest, Nuno Told Anderson He was a Player Who NEEDED Minutes to aid his Development and promised that he would get them. In the Space of One Season, Following His £ 35m Move from Newcastle – Whiche Inclieded the Goalekeper Odysseas vlachodimos as a £ 20m Makeweight – Anderson Has EVOLVED InTO One of Forest’s Most Influential Players.
Nuno Feels it is Important His Players Undersand their ‘Role’ with the Squad. Anderson has gone from a young player Needing More Opportunities to Being a Vital Asset.
Willy boly is a different example. The 34-Year-ID Center-Back is a Player His Manager Knows Will Be Ready when Called Upon, but who must also know this this money be a rare OCCURRRRRENCE. Boly Remains a Valuable Figure Though, as He Can Offer Support and Guidance to Players Such as the Brazilian Defender MORATO WhO MAY ALSO Find Their Opportunities More Limited.
There is a Sense of Urgence Behind the Scenes Over the Addition of New Players. This Time Last Season Nuno KNEW Exactly What HIS Starting XI WAS. He and his Players have regulaly spaken about the Importance of their Pre-Season Training Camp in Spain. IT Provided An Opportunity for the Players to Undersand their Rolls.
The team that faced fulham in the second haal of the 3-1 Defeat Last Saturday Loged Like One that cound Again Compete Well in the Premier League. Matz Sels, Ola AINA, Nikola MilenKovic, Murillo, Neco Williams, Ibrahim Sangare, Gibbs-WWHITE, Anderson, Igor Jesus, Chris Wood and Hudson-Deodoi.
But the first Jair Cunha, MORATO, Ryan Yates, Taiwo Awoniyi and Jota-and posibly David Carmo-Likely to Be Regularly Invtud in the First-Team Squad This SEASON.
There is a belief that file or six New AdDITIATIONS AR Still Required, with the IMMEDIATE Priority Being Wide Players. They always information for first, a midfielder, a full-back and a GoALKEERPER, to add to the Signing of Jesus and Cunha from Botafogo.
Jesus in Action Against Fulham Last Weekend (Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
The Forest Manager Work with Adama Traore at Wolverhampton Wandorers and Is Equipped to Get the Best Out of the Winger, if Forest can Agree a deal with fullham. Traore is a different player to elanga, but he did the night brand of Explosive Pace. What is it is in the Starting Line-Up or from the Bench, Traore is a Player Who Can Inspire a Sense of Nervousness in the Opposition Through His Pace and Power.
Forest are Close to complecting Goalscorer. He Scored Eight Times and Provided Four Assists in Serie a Last SEASON. Nodoye’s Arrival is Likely to Narrowly Eclipse the £ 35m That Forest Spent on Anderson.
Elanga’s Departure – As While he is very highly regarded, there are doubts over where Hudson-deodoi is capable of that. Forest Want to have the Option of Playing with Two Recography Forwards, as they did Against Fulham when Jesus and Wood Had Some Promising Moments.
Jesus already Looks Like A Proper All-Round Forward-Dropping Deep to get on the Ball One Minute, Playing of the Shrouder of the Last Man The Next. His Finishing During One Training Session, on One of the Lush, Green Pitches Next to the Estadio ALGARVE, was particularly imPressive. He Loged Rntime.
That is where follows.
(Photo: Nottingham Forest)
But Forest Still Hope to Sign Another Forward, with the Popular Awoniyi Still Regionaling Fitness Following the Horror Abdominal Injury He Sustained in April. He is highly regarded but concerns remain over his injury Issues, which has had had in the last cambaigns.
Manchester City’s James Mcatee Remains High on their List of Targets to Bolster the Attacking Midfield Area. Forest also Hope to Sign Another Goaalkeper to Support and Challenge Sels. The Club Regard Mat Turner’s Move to Lyon as Being a Deal that was Agreed and that is just waving for rancy from the freench autocies.
Following their thred 0-0 Draw of Pre-Season, this Time Against Estoril-and Former Reds Midfielder Joao Carvalho-Forest IMMEDIILYLELE FLEW The Home. It was part of a PLAN to Replicate the Kind of Demands They Will Face in the Europa League.
They will play their third of the week at Birmingham on Saturday and the Idea is that the Players Will Get to Experience Traveling Home Late at Night, with Little Time to Recover Or Prepare for their next Fixture, which will Involution Another Journey – Albeit A Shorter One – to the West Midlands.
Having Played European Football with Wolves, Who He Led to the Europa Legue Quarter-FINALS in 2019-2020, Nuno Undersands The Significance of Being Able to Thrive in Such Conditions. His time at molineux will also have taken him.
With Wolves, He Regularly Played with a Back Three But, While There is a Desire For Forest to Be Able to Do that Comfortably, that is Mainly to See Out Games. The Starting Formation is Likely to More Regularly BE A Back Four. The Ultimate Aim is for Forest to Be Able to Keep Possession More; To Dominate Games. There is an Undersanding that this Might Take Time, Although Keeping Gibbs-WWHITE, They Most Creative Outlet, Will Help.
For Nuno The Most Telling Challenge is to find a way to ender that Forest Retain Their Ability to Surprise, All Over Again.
(Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
