Oliver Glasner is confident Nottingham Forest will hold onto their most prized assets, Morgan Gibbs-White and Murillo, having already cashed in big on the club’s brightest young talent this summer.
A Big Profit That Changes Everything
Forest banked a huge windfall from Elliot Anderson’s £116 million move to Manchester City, and that piece of business has left the club in a genuinely strong position heading into the rest of the transfer window. While the 23-year-old midfielder does need replacing, with Lucas Bergvall identified as a leading option, Forest go into the remainder of their summer trading with real financial confidence.
That’s a notable shift from previous windows. Last summer, Gibbs-White looked close to a move to Tottenham, and Forest’s Brazilian centre-back Murillo has repeatedly been the subject of intense transfer speculation in past windows too. This time around, the club feels genuinely optimistic about keeping its key men in place.
Glasner’s Honest Take on Losing Top Talent
Speaking about Forest’s approach to player retention, the Austrian manager was refreshingly candid: “It’s always important for every single club, for every single manager to keep your best players. Nobody likes to lose the top players, but again that’s part of the world of the football world. We are not at the end of the food chain in football, so that’s why we have to accept it.”
He added that losing a player can also open doors elsewhere: “On the other side it gives you a chance, some bad news also you can have some chances so the club now brought in a few pounds, they’re ready to get invested and now it’s our job to define and find the right players and hopefully we can make a step forward.”
Contract Extensions Show the Club’s Commitment
Glasner pointed to recent contract renewals as proof of Forest’s determination to hold onto their core squad, noting that the club showed great commitment last year in extending Morgan Gibbs-White’s deal, while Murillo and Ola Aina have also signed new terms. He acknowledged that unpredictable situations can always arise in football, but stressed that as things stand, it looks like the players Forest want to keep, they will keep, adding that should something unexpected come in, the club would have honest conversations, take a clear position, and stick together.
Defending Forest’s Recruitment Record
Glasner also pushed back against any suggestion that Forest’s transfer business has been inconsistent, pointing to a string of shrewd signings as evidence of a strong recruitment department. He highlighted Murillo as a fantastic piece of business that few saw coming, along with Nikola Milenković and Elliot Anderson himself, a player who wasn’t even a regular starter at Newcastle before his move to the City Ground transformed his career.
He was honest about the occasional misfire too, acknowledging that not every signing works out exactly as the club or the player expected, but insisted it would be unfair to single out Forest as somehow worse at this than other clubs, noting that no team in football has a perfect recruitment record.
New Arrivals Expected in Portugal
Looking ahead, Glasner confirmed he expects new faces to join the squad when Forest head to Portugal for their pre-season training camp next week. He admitted impatience is both a strength and a weakness of his, joking that he would have loved for incoming targets to already be training with the group, but explained that’s simply not realistic given several of the players currently being discussed featured at the World Cup and remain on holiday. Still, he expressed real confidence that a handful of new signings will link up with the squad once they arrive in Portugal.
What This Means for Forest Fans
With a major profit banked, key contracts extended, and Glasner clearly committed to protecting the club’s core talent, Forest supporters have genuine reason for optimism heading into the new season. The challenge now shifts to reinvesting that Anderson windfall wisely and finding the right additions to push the club forward.
Forest fans, are you confident in Glasner’s vision for the squad? Let us know your thoughts below.
