Nottingham Forest winger Joe Lolley has taken to Instagram to deliver a farewell message to both midfielder Samba Sow and fellow wide player Sammy Ameobi following their exits from the City Ground.

Chris Hughton’s side confirmed in their retained list that both Sow and Ameobi would be leaving the club this summer at the end of their deals with the decision having been made not to offer them new contracts.

They joined the likes of Glenn Murray, Yuri Riberio, Abdoulaye Diallo, Michael Dawson and Michael Hefele in departing the club at the end of their existing deals.

Both Sow and Ameobi were key parts of the Nottingham Forest side that came close to securing a place in the Championship play-off places during the 2019/20 campaign.

However, they were both unable to have as big of an impact last term, with Sow managing just 15 Championship appearances and Ameobi making just 27 starts in the league.

Lolley has now taken to his Instagram account to issue a farewell message to both Sow and Ameobi and to wish them luck in finding new permanent homes during the summer transfer window.

The verdict

It was a little surprising perhaps to have seen Forest make the decision to allow Ameobi to leave the club this summer given that the winger still has the ability to change games and make things happen in an instant on the field. While their decision to release Sow is perhaps more understandable given the injury issues that the midfielder had that limited his impact last term.

Lolley though seems to be suggesting here that they were both very important players to have around the dressing room at the City Ground. They will therefore be two players that Forest miss next season and they will need to work hard in the transfer market this summer to bring in replacements for them.

However, neither player was able to make a positive enough impact for them in what was a season of struggle for Forest last term. Therefore, it might be the best decision for all parties for them to move on and find new clubs. Most supporters would likely echo Lolley’s comments here and also wish them well whichever club they move to next.