Nuno Espírito Santo has done a fantastic job as Nottingham Forest’s manager this season, guiding the team to fifth position in the Premier League after 15 games.

After doing a fantastic job during the off-season, he has made the Reds a formidable team to beat, surpassing all expectations in the first few months of 2024–2025.

Nikola Milenkovic, who will start at the centre of Nuno’s backline and give the team the true authoritative presence they have been lacking over the years, will surely go down as one of the season’s best acquisitions.

The Serbian scored his first goal for the team in the victory over Manchester United over the weekend, making his £12 million transfer fee appear like a steal and worth far more than what they paid for his services. Nevertheless, their window deals haven’t always been fruitful, frequently squandering a tonne of cash on players who aren’t good enough for the Premier League.

Nottingham Forest’s worst signings since promotion

Jesse Lingard’s arrival thrilled the fans after they repelled West Ham United’s interest, especially considering his skill and experience in the top division.

The move would prove disastrous despite the initial optimism, as he would only make 20 appearances across all competitions, scoring twice but not in the Premier League.

Despite joining on a free transfer, he was quite expensive; at £115k a week, he was the most paid player in Forest’s history when he moved to the City Ground.

After many loan agreements the previous season, goalie Matt Turner signed in the summer of 2023 with the intention of bringing long-term stability to the goalkeeping position.

The American international, who played 21 games in all competitions before Nuno dropped him upon his arrival last December, was a catastrophe of a move.

During his time as a consistent starter, the former Arsenal player was frequently at fault for unnecessary mistakes, as evidenced by his save prevention rate of -5.45.

Nuno has to get rid of him immediately in January because another player has been equally unsatisfactory throughout his time in the East Midlands.

The player who Nottingham Forest need to offload in January

After spending £20 million in the summer of 2022 to provide the talent required to guarantee their top-flight place in the first year following a 23-year break, forward Emmanuel Dennis created a lot of enthusiasm.

Given his performance with Watford the previous season, where he scored ten goals despite the Hornets’ eventual relegation back to the second division of England, expectations were also placed on him.

He has only made 25 appearances across all competitions throughout his disastrous tenure at the City Ground, despite former manager Steve Cooper calling him a “game changer” when he first joined.