Nottingham Forest boss Aitor Karanka has fired a warning to the rest of the Championship, insisting that Lewis Grabban will only get better after scoring his first goal for the club against Sheffield Wednesday.
Karanka moved to sign Grabban for a fee thought to be around the £6m mark over the summer, but the striker’s start to life at the City Ground hasn’t been the best.
Grabban scored 20 goals last season in the Championship, but has had to wait until his seventh appearance of the season to score his first in Forest colours.
Previously, Karanka described Grabban as one of the Championship’s best strikers, with the Spaniard now backing the 30-year-old to get better after his first goal.
Speaking to the Nottingham Post, Karanka said: “It was tough for him not to score goals, because strikers live for their goals. But I knew that, with his quality, the goals would arrive.
“I am really pleased for him, because he will go even better now, from this point.”
Grabban’s goal last night against Sheffield Wednesday helped Forest to a 2-1 victory, with that win only the Reds’ second of the Championship season.
Karanka’s side have now moved up to 11th in the Championship table ahead of this weekend’s clash with Rotherham United.
The Reds will be looking to close the two-point gap to the Championship’s top-six.
The Verdict
Grabban showed how good he can be at this level last season, so he will be looking to build on last night’s goal.
Karanka is favouring rotation within his squad this season, so Grabban might find himself on the bench some weeks.
However, if he can put a goalscoring run together, he could become key at Forest, as he’s the club’s only real natural source of goals.
Thoughts? Let us know!
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