Nuno Santo must unleash Nottingham Forest’s “highly creative” gem

Nuno Santo must unleash Nottingham Forest’s “highly creative” gem

Since the victories over Manchester United and Newcastle United towards the end of December, Nottingham Forest haven’t won a single Premier League game.

Last weekend, they travelled to the Vitality Stadium, where they held AFC Bournemouth to a 1-1 draw.

This weekend, Nuno Espírito Santo has the opportunity to defeat the Magpies for the second time this season.

The reverse fixture saw Chris Wood take home the match ball, as the Tricky Trees won 3-1 on the road. However, the Portuguese boss could have a secret weapon to ensure the same outcome is repeated.

Callum Hudson-Odoi drops out

Since moving to Forest in the summer, Callum Hudson-Odoi has failed to nail down a place in the starting XI, with a hamstring injury making him miss over a month of action.

Nevertheless, he has featured in 14 matches this season, starting 50% of them, albeit while only scoring two goals and registering one assist in the Premier League. One of those did come against the Cherries last week via a curling effort into the bottom corner from outside the box.

This was his first goal since his debut for Forest in September, with his output being an aspect of his game that he must improve if he is to become a consistent starter in Nuno Santo’s best team.

Giovanni Reyna could make his first Forest start

Giovanni Reyna has yet to have a real opportunity to show his talent in a Forest shirt after the Borussia Dortmund ace joined the club on loan just before the end of the January transfer window.

The USMNT star came off the bench last weekend to play 12 minutes, and he already showed glimpses of what he could bring to the side during the short cameo. Reyna made 17 passes, won all four of his duels, and made one tackle in what was a busy outing.

Reyna’s 2022/23 Bundesliga Stats

Stats (per 90)

Reyna

League Percentile

Goals

1.01

Top 1%

Shots total

3.46

Top 5%

xA

0.27

Top 15%

Carries into final third

2.74

Top 7%

Touches (Att pen)

6.62

Top 4%

Stats via FBref

That said, Reyna’s best attributes all occur in the final third, where he can impact the game via his dribbling, chance creation, and goals, with Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig describing the midfielder as “highly creative.”

Hudson-Odoi has yet to be a player for Forest who will take responsibility in attack and be involved in the game throughout, as highlighted by his 0.5 shots per game, 0.8 key passes per match, and his 0.74 xA for the whole season.

Reyna’s creativity alone should see him slot into the starting XI nicely, and the 6 foot 1 maestro would definitely increase Forest’s threat against Newcastle. However, the 21-year-old is also extremely hardworking, as shown by his 2.02 tackles per ninety last season, which will prevent the likes of Bruno Guimaraes from working their magic as often in midfield.

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Nottingham Forest’s 5m star will be running scared after Reyna move

The American’s arrival could spell trouble for another of the Tricky Tree’s recent additions.

Overall, Reyna must start, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he had a say in the outcome of the clash at the City Ground on Saturday evening.