Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo expects the club to be “active” in the final few days of the January transfer window, despite fighting a charge of breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Forest have signed 42 players since returning to the Premier League in 2022, and have been accused of exceeding the competition’s maximum allowed loss during the four-year period ending at the culmination of the 2022-23 season.
The outcome of Forest’s charge will be made public in April, and the prospect of a points deduction has raised fears of Nuno’s side being plunged into a relegation battle.
They sit four points clear of 18th-placed Luton Town, who have a game in hand on most of the teams around them, and Nuno has previously spoken of the need to add to their squad this month.
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Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Arsenal, Nuno expressed hope that some movement may be possible in the next 72 hours.
Club statement.
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 15, 2024
“We’ve spoken about it before. There’s three days to go so we have to wait and see,” he said. “As a club we are active and trying to reach our targets as it’s clear what we want and what we need.
“It’s not always possible to get what you want so we are waiting for developments. My job is to always be aware of situations but mainly focusing on the team and trying to get it right.”
Forest secured Premier League survival – and confirmed Manchester City’s title win – by recording a memorable 1-0 victory over Arsenal last May, in a game played out amid a raucous atmosphere at the City Ground.
Back in @premierleague action against Arsenal.#NFOARS ???? pic.twitter.com/T6FmihIjrW
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 29, 2024
Nuno believes the home fans will have a major role to play again on Tuesday, saying: “Arsenal are one of the best teams around, we know the quality of their players and manager.
“We rely on the atmosphere of the ground, it’s important to get energy from our fans. A big step for us as a team was keeping clean sheets, that was a goal we were pursuing.
“For us, it’s not about who we have in front of us, it’s about how we want to play the game. We have to defend well and we have to attack and go for the game.”
