The 20 worst signings Nottingham Forest have made since promotion

Hits and misses in the transfer market are a given for any club, and Nottingham Forest are no different.

Some players have made their mark while wearing the Garibaldi, others less so. Some signings will live long in fans’ memories, others will quickly be forgotten or even remembered for the wrong reasons.

Since promotion to the Premier League in 2022, the Reds have made 79 signings. Earlier in the week, the Nottingham Post ranked the club’s top 20 additions since their return to the top flight.

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Now we have turned attention to the worst, listing them in descending order. You can have your say on where these signings rank using our widget below.

Gio Reyna: Viewed as a bright talent - and arguably still does have promise at 23 years of age - but was able to only provide glimpses of what he could do during a short loan spell from Borussia Dortmund. Was looking to reignite his fortunes when he joined Forest in January 2024 but it didn’t really work out like that.

David Carmo: It is difficult to describe the defender as a flop as such, and his place on this list might be considered harsh by some as he never actually played for the club. The Reds have had a few of those types of signings over the years.

Andrey Santos: More debates were had about the Brazilian essentially being a spectator than the amount of minutes he actually played. His total game time for the Reds amounted to a grand total of 96 minutes across two appearances. Little wonder he went back to Chelsea early.

Loic Bade: Described his time on loan at the City Ground as “one of the worst situations” of his career after he had left. Failed to play a single game for the club during his stint from Rennes, which was brought to an early end in January 2023.

Omar Richards: Had things worked out differently, the left-back would have been nowhere near this list. It all seemed so promising when his arrival from Bayern Munich was announced. Unfortunately, a nightmare few years with injury ensued and the defender left without getting to pull on the Garibaldi.

Josh Bowler: In different circumstances, the winger might have eventually got an opportunity Trentside. Was part of the recruitment drive following promotion and would potentially have been a useful addition if survival had not been achieved and the club had found themselves back in the Championship. Instead, he had a succession of loans before eventually moving on permanently.

Nuno Tavares: Made only a handful of appearances during his loan from Arsenal in 2023/24. It had been a slow start to his time with the Reds, then just when it looked like he might get going he was stopped in his tracks by injury. Meant there was little likelihood of the option to sign him ever being taken up.

Odysseas Vlachodimos: Arrived in 2023 with an impressive CV featuring more than 200 appearances for Benfica and a solid haul of caps for Greece but didn’t live up to his excellent pedigree. Might have been further down this list had he played more - although he was in goal for the infamous 5-0 hammering at Fulham - but earns bonus points for being part of the swap deal that brought Elliot Anderson to the club.

Carlos Miguel: At 6ft 8in tall, the Brazilian was always easy to spot but his was a blink-and-you-miss it spell Trentside. Made just three appearances in total, although one of them was against Exeter City in the FA Cup when he made rather a mess of the opening goal and then was forced off with injury.

Douglas Luiz: Perhaps because the midfielder had been so impressive during his time at Aston Villa, there was an element of disappointment that he didn’t really replicate that form during his City Ground spell. He clearly has talent, and that makes it particularly frustrating that he didn’t show it in the Garibaldi. Wasn’t really a surprise to see his loan from Juventus curtailed early.

Jesse Lingard: The former Manchester United man earns his place on this list because there was so much hype surrounding his arrival. He was the big-name capture following the Reds’ promotion - and on a free, too - but he didn’t really deliver, at least to the extent it was hoped he would. Brought an energy to the dressing room but not a great deal else.

Hwang Ui-jo: Add the South Korean forward to the list of names to put pen to paper only to leave without ever playing a competitive game. Another member of the 2022 recruitment drive easily forgotten about given he went on various loans.

Divock Origi: One of a number of well-known names whose moves to Forest have not worked out over the years. On paper, this was a signing that had the potential to make a real difference. The reality proved different and the former Liverpool man never really grasped his opportunities when they came up.

Andre Ayew: Had the trust of Steve Cooper but didn’t exactly do a great deal to repay that faith on the pitch. The Welshman had got the best out of Ayew before, when they were at Swansea City together, but it was a different story on the banks of the Trent. The forward’s short-term contract ran its course with little by way of tangible return.

Matt Turner: Few signings have been quite so likeable while being guilty of a string of howlers as the American. The USA international is clearly a great guy, he just had a habit of dropping a costly clanger on the pitch. At this kind of level, Forest simply could not afford their goalkeeper to make such mistakes.

Emmanuel Dennis: One of the most frustrating players to watch on his day. Could go from looking like a proper threat one minute to struggling to play a two-yard pass the next. Forest paid Watford a reported £20 million when they signed the Nigerian in the summer of 2022 but it is difficult to argue he represented value for money.

Oleksandr Zinchenko: Former global head of football Edu was reportedly influential in the full-back being recruited on loan from his former club, Arsenal. Although Zinchenko looked like he had something to offer going forward, it was a different matter defensively. Was hampered by injury before his Reds stint was brought to an early end.

Gonzalo Montiel: Arrived as a World Cup winner, having scored the decisive penalty for Argentina in their 2022 shootout victory over France. There was little evidence of that kind of pedigree during his Forest loan, though. It was no surprise the option to sign him permanently from Sevilla was not taken up.

Lorenzo Lucca: It all started so well when the striker came off the bench and grabbed a goal on his debut. However, it quickly became apparent that despite getting on the scoresheet against Leeds United the Napoli loanee was not going to be the answer to Forest’s issues in front of goal last season.

Jonjo Shelvey: Where to start? Perhaps with that infamous horrible (and costly) gaffe against Aston Villa in April 2023 that proved to be his final contribution for the club. A falling out with head coach at the time Cooper meant he did not feature again for the rest of that campaign and he moved on soon after.