Nottingham Forest: talkSPORT pundit raves over one summer signing
Could Forest have made the signing of the season…
Nottingham Forest landed an “outstanding” coup on deadline day, according to talkSPORT pundit Andy Townsend.
The Tricky Trees secured no fewer than five new additions on September 1st, with Callum Hudson-Odoi, Nicolas Dominguez, Odysseas Vlachodimos and Nuno Tavares joining club-record signing Ibrahim Sangare at the City Ground.
After watching him play for PSV, the former Chelsea and Aston Villa midfielder believes the Reds’ £30m arrival could be one of the signings of the season.
What did Andy Townsend say about Ibrahim Sangaré?
Following Forest’s 1-0 away win over Chelsea, Townsend was full of adoration for the side that currently sits ninth in the Premier League and their new signing.
Speaking on talkSPORT he said:
“Me and Ally were talking about Forest. It was a great win against Chelsea and they played really well.
“I tell you what as well, they’ve signed one lad, Ibrahim Sangare. He’s a really good player, he’s outstanding.
“Me and Ally have watched him a bit with PSV playing Rangers recently and he’s been really good to watch.”
Is Sangaré a good signing for Forest?
It appears that Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper may have completed a massive coup by signing the Ivorian, who had been wanted by some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs, including Manchester United and Chelsea.
Before signing a five-year contract with Nottingham Forest Sangaré made 140 appearances for PSV (who he signed for in 2020), scoring 15 goals and registering 10 assists in all competitions.
In 2022, former PSV and Ajax manager Aad De Moss spoke extremely highly of the 25-year-old, via Voetbal 4U.
He said:
“Ibrahim Sangaré is better on one leg than Leicester’s midfield.
“He is extraordinary; this season, he has been the king of PSV. You only miss Sangeré when he’s not playing.
“He can easily play at Tottenham and certainly at Arsenal.
“Sangaré is a great player. I think €35m is a good price.
“[It’s] a bargain. I think he is a good player who would be first on the board at all those teams.
“You need someone like that, who picks up a ball and is always in between things with the point of his shoe. And lately, he’s also been getting dangerous towards the opponent’s goal.”
The midfielder backs up the Dutch legend’s praise through his outstanding performances on the pitch, last season he was ranked as PSV’s fifth-best performer by Sofascore, with an average rating of 7.24.
Furthermore, per FBref, he ranks in the top 1% of European midfielders for ball recoveries as well as the top 24% of midfielders for tackles, both per 90 mins.
He also ranks in the top 5% for through balls completed and the top 35% for shot-creating actions per 90 minutes.
This shows that he is one of the most versatile midfielders in Europe, as he is able to not only help his side when attacking but also have an incredibly high work rate to help out defensively.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis hasn’t been shy to bring in new faces since being promoted to the Premier League and has brought in 13 players alone in the most recent window, seven of which were completed on deadline day. But it looks like Sangaré could be the pick of the bunch.
