The curious case of Dan Ndoye and his new 'few touches' role at Nottingham Forest

Dan Ndoye left the Villa Park pitch battered and bloodied after his race was run in Nottingham Forest’s first victory of the season.

The Switzerland international took a whack to the face during the Reds’ 2-1 win over Aston Villa. He had to have cotton wool stuffed up both nostrils to stem the flow of blood that had poured out of him.

Oliver Glasner said Ndoye looked like he had come through 12 rounds of a boxing match. But the winger still “kept running and running and running and creating”, the Forest head coach said.

And there’s the rub. How much of a role did the Reds’ No.14 play in clinching the three points? Glasner clearly feels Ndoye did his bit.

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Fans might not be convinced. Ndoye ought to have got on the scoresheet in the West Midlands but couldn’t take one of his chances, and some supporters are of the view he should be dropped for Saturday’s clash with Coventry City at the City Ground (5.30pm kick-off).

After all, Igor Jesus - the man who replaced Ndoye in the 75th minute last weekend - bagged the winner against Villa. The Brazilian is arguably better suited to operating as one of the two 10s in Glasner’s set-up than as an out-and-out striker.

The Forest boss has other choices, too. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Arnaud Kalimuendo can play alongside playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White, as can James McAtee - although given the former Manchester City man is excelling in a deeper role it would make little sense to change that at present.

Glasner got his tactics spot on at Villa Park - as he so often has against Unai Emery’s side. The Austrian is yet to lose to his opposite number in eight fixtures in all competitions against Villa, in a run that stretches throughout his time at Crystal Palace and now with the Reds.

The visitors were dominant in the second half. Overall, they notched up 22 shots, seven of which were on target, 32 touches in their opponents’ box and an xG (expected goals) of 2.28.

According to stats experts Opta, Ndoye had a greater xG than anyone else on the pitch (0.70) but he failed to score. He had five shots at goal, four of which came from inside the box, but got only one of them on target.

Stats aside, the 25-year-old has blown hot and cold so far this season. After being quiet on the opening day against Leeds United, he was much improved in the 2-2 draw away to Liverpool in which he opened the scoring but failed to really build on that performance in the 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

Against Villa, as much as he was involved in some positive moments there was also a nagging sense he needed to offer more. He played nine passes in his 75 minutes on the pitch, in comparison to the five he played before being substituted after an hour against Spurs.

He might not be impacting the game in the same way as some of his teammates but he is obviously doing what is being asked of him and fits into his manager’s way of playing.

Glasner is a fan of Ndoye. He clearly sees the ex-Bologna man as someone deployed to run and run, stretch play and allow the likes of Gibbs-White and McAtee to work their magic.

Ndoye might not have many touches or make many passes - at least in comparison to others - but he is still having an influence in the way intended. Even so, given the impact of Jesus from off the bench Glasner might have a big selection decision to weigh up come this weekend.

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