Costel Pantilimon has claimed that the reason he has not played for Nottingham Forest this is not football-related, but says he does not blame manager Sabri Lamouchi for the situation he finds himself in.

Pantilimon was an almost ever-present for Forest in the Championship last season as the club finished ninth in the second-tier, although things have not gone to plan for the 33-year-old this time around.

With first Aro Muric and now Brice Samba establishing themselves between the posts for Forest this season, Pantilimon has failed to make a single appearance for the club in the current campaign, leading to him being loaned out to Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia in the January transfer window.

That is something that Pantilimon himself has clearly not been impressed with, and speaking about his fall down the pecking order to Gazeta Sporturilor in his native Romania, the goalkeeper said: “What I can say clearly is that there is no question that I should not play professionally.

“The year before I was the best goalkeeper in the league, it wasn’t the performance issue. There are other things that I think it would not be good to expose to the public. I can clearly say that it is not in terms of performance.”

Despite his frustrations, it seems that Pantilimon holds no grudge against current Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi - who only took over at the City Ground this summer - as he continued: “I have a very good relationship with the coach, we even talked on the phone after I left and while I was there, even if I was in a group of players who trained separately.

“I have a special respect for him and his staff because they knew how to manage the situation even if it did not depend on them.”

Pantilimon, who joined Forest in January 2018, has just over a year remaining on his contract with Forest, securing his future at the City Ground until the end of next season.

The Verdict

This is an interesting one.

Pantilimon was generally a reliable goalkeeper for Forest last season, so it may have seemed slightly harsh to look to replace him as they did in the summer transfer window.

However, there can be no denying that Brice Samba has been largely excellent for Lamouchi's side since taking over the gloves at the end of August, which has somewhat justified their decision here.

Indeed, with the comments that Pantilimon has made now, it is hard to see his return to the City Ground being anything other than a brief one in the summer, given he appears to have burned some rather significant bridges with the club.