Nottingham Forest had a busy end to the transfer window having completed seven deadline-day signings, as well as selling Brennan Johnson to Tottenham.
Arsenal full-back Nuno Tavares joined on loan with the option of making the deal permanent before the addition of Nicolas Dominguez from Bologna on a five-year contract, which saw Remo Freuler head to the Serie A club on a permanent basis.
Dominguez – who was captain at Bologna – signed on a five-year contract. The 25-year-old has played 11 times for Argentina since making his international debut in September 2019.
“It feels amazing to join a club with so much history in England and the Premier League,” Dominguez told the Forest website.
“I watched the game Forest played against Sheffield United, I saw the fans in the stadium and it attracted me. I’m over the moon and keen to embrace this challenge.”
Long-term target Callum Hudson-Odoi signed a three-year contract after leaving Chelsea to bolster Cooper’s forward options.
Hudson-Odoi, capped three times for England, signed a three-year deal after making 156 appearances for the Blues.
The 22-year-old spent last term on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, with Forest seeing off Fulham for the signing, having made a total of 156 appearances for Chelsea.
“It’s massive for me to be here and I can’t wait to get started. It’s a new chapter for me,” he said.
Forest continued their spending on Greek goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, who joined from Benfica on a four-year deal, and Ibrahim Sangare, who arrived on a five-year deal from PSV Eindhoven for a fee believed to be £30m.
The Ivory Coast international helped PSV beat Rangers to reach the Champions League group stages. The 25-year-old was linked with a move to Bayern Munich earlier in the transfer window.
More than 90 minutes after the window had closed, Forest announced the loan signing of former Liverpool forward Divock Origi from AC Milan.
The Belgium international made 36 appearances last season for the San Siro outfit.
Forest’s chief football officer Ross Wilson said: “Divock returns to the Premier League to further add strength to our squad.
“We wanted to bolster our attacking options and Divock certainly helps us to do that.”
But Forest were not done there.
In the early hours, defender Andrew Omobamidele joined from Norwich for £11m.
The defender has signed a five-year deal which keeps him at the City Ground until at least the summer of 2028.
The 21-year-old made his full international debut for Republic of Ireland in September 2021 and has since played a further five times for his country.
Forest’s chief football officer Wilson – a busy man – said: “Andrew has attracted considerable attention since his emergence at Norwich City, already experiencing Premier League, Championship and international football.
“He is one of the most exciting young defenders in the country at this time and we are delighted to welcome him to the club.”
The magnificent seven
- Ibrahim Sangare – PSV Eindhoven, £30m
- Divock Origi – AC Milan, loan
- Nuno Tavares – Arsenal, loan
- Nicolas Dominguez – Bologna, swap (Remo Freuler going the other way)
- Callum Hudson-Odoi – Chelsea, £5m
- Odysseas Vlachodimos – Benfica, £7.7m
- Andrew Omobamidele – Norwich, £11m
How will Cooper fit them all in?
Brennan Johnson joined Spurs in a £47.5m deal
The new recruits take Forest’s summer incomings up to 15, following the arrivals of Anthony Elanga, Matt Turner, Ola Aina, Andrey Santos, Gonzalo Montiel, Murillo, Chris Wood on a permanent deal and youngster Manni Norkett from Manchester United.
The arrival of seven fresh faces came on the same day of a significant outgoing for the club. Tottenham completed the signing of Brennan Johnson in a deal worth £47.5m.
Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou made the Wales international his number one target following the departure of Harry Kane last month and secured the services of the young attacker late on transfer deadline day.
Johnson signed a deal at Tottenham until the summer of 2029 after bringing his lengthy association at Forest to an end.
Versatile forward Johnson made his Forest debut in 2019, following in the footsteps of father David, and went on to make 108 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring 29 goals.
Ex-Lincoln loanee Johnson became a key figure following Steve Cooper’s arrival at the City Ground and was prominent in the club’s promotion to the Premier League in 2022 before he scored eight times last season to guide them to top flight survival.
While Johnson signed a four-year deal at Forest last summer, he has been prized away for a fee worth £47.5m with a 10 per cent sell-on clause included in the transfer.
Forest did turn down two bids from Brentford for Johnson – who can play anywhere across the front three – earlier in the window, but this sale will help satisfy their Financial Fair Play requirements.
Summer 2023 transfer window
Ins
Ibrahim Sangare – PSV Eindhoven, £30m
Divock Origi – AC Milan, loan
Gonzalo Montiel – Sevilla, loan
Anthony Elanga – Man Utd, undisclosed
Chris Wood – Newcastle, undisclosed
Manni Norkett – Manchester United, free
Ola Aina – Torino, free
Matt Turner – Arsenal, £10m
Andrey Santos – Chelsea, loan
Murrilo – Corinthians, £13.7m
Nuno Tavares – Arsenal, loan
Nicolas Dominguez – Bologna, swap (Remo Freuler going the other way)
Callum Hudson-Odoi – Chelsea, £5m
Odysseas Vlachodimos – Benfica, £7.7m
Andrew Omobamidele – Norwich, £11m
Outs
Brennan Johnson – Tottenham, £47.5m
Lewis O’Brien – Middlesbrough, loan
Riley Harbottle – Hibernian, undisclosed
Sam Surridge – Nashville SC, undisclosed
Will Swan – Mansfield, undisclosed
Andre Ayew – Released
Cafu – Rotherham, free
Adnan Kanuric – Released
Jack Colback – QPR, free
Jesse Lingard – Released
Jordan Smith – Released
Lyle Taylor – Released
Dale Taylor – Wycombe, loan
Fin Back – Carlisle, loan
Aaron Donnelly – Dundee, loan
Steve Cook – QPR, undisclosed
Braian Ojeda – Real Salt Lake, undisclosed
Josh Bowler – Cardiff City, loan
Oli Hammond – Cheltenham Town, loan
Billy Fewster – Released
Alex Gibson-Hammond – Released
Ryan Hammon – Released
Nicky Hogarth – Released
Lewis Salmon – Released
Gustavo Scarpa – Olympiacos, loan
Tyrese Fornah – Derby, undisclosed
Jonathan Panzo – Cardiff, loan
Loic Mbe Soh – Almere City, loan
Remo Freuler – Bologna, swap (Nicolas Dominguez going the other way)
Cooper hopes officials at Chelsea ‘stand up and be strong’
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The Ref Watch panel debate Joe Worrall’s sending off for Nottingham Forest against Manchester United with some disagreement on what the decision should have been.
Cooper said he hoped the match officials at Chelsea on Saturday would “stand up and be strong”.
Forest were aggrieved at several key decisions which went against them in last weekend’s 3-2 defeat at Manchester United.
Referee Stuart Atwell’s decisions to dismiss Forest skipper Joe Worrall for denying Bruno Fernandes a goalscoring chance and award a penalty for Danilo’s challenge on Marcus Rashford were both ratified by VAR.
Cooper said: “It’s another tough away game, a big stadium, Stamford Bridge, in terms of standing up and being strong – everybody on the pitch.
“It will be interesting to see how that goes, especially after last weekend.”
Cooper said Forest had yet to receive a reply from the PGMOL after contacting the referees’ governing body for their observations on the match at Old Trafford.
“We were quick to be very professional in our observations and how we felt, but we haven’t had a reply, which on the basis of what went on last week is a little bit surprising,” Cooper said.
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Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper says his side didn’t quite get the luck they ‘deserved’ after Manchester United overturned a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 at Old Trafford.
“There are lots of observations you give now on a weekly basis. We should stand up about how we feel about things, good or bad. It shouldn’t always be negative.”
Cooper said it was now “the norm” for managers to analyse the match officials with their players before a match.
Tim Robinson will referee at Stamford Bridge, with Jarred Gillett in the VAR seat.
“We show certain statistics around how they’ve been which is not good or bad, but referees – like players – will have different trends,” Cooper added.
“We definitely do that and we show the players every week who the referee is and some bits around their statistics on certain things, like penalties and cards etc.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from the Premier League match between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
“It’s a really tough job for referees, they need the best support they can get with the infrastructure around them.
“We should always give our observations even if they’re positive ones. We’re very quick to criticise when you feel hard done by. But we should also do the opposite as well and I feel that we do that.”
Forest have had a tough start on the road in the league this season, having lost to Arsenal on the opening day before defeat at Old Trafford.
Cooper added: “I think it’s interesting for us because when the fixtures came out, everyone looked at our away games.
“So that’s what I’m saying – another big one at the weekend and we just want everybody on the pitch to be of the right, strong mentality.”