It is a difficult time off the pitch for Sky Bet Championship outfit Nottingham Forest with several sections of their support distraught at the club’s Chairman following the sale of starlet Oliver Burke.
Burke had started the 2016/17 campaign in emphatic style scoring four goals and propelling himself to the top of the Championship scoring charts.
Forest received a generous £13 million for the 19-year-old from Red Bull Leipzig and with boss Philippe Montanier already adding 11 new players to his squad, there is still lots of reasons for the Reds to be optimistic for the future months.
With the core of last season’s squad still intact there is enough in the current team to suggest that Forest can exceed pre-season expectations between now and May.
With the current squad of talent in mind, Football League World writer Lee Clarke takes a look at three incredibly underrated members of the Nottingham Forest squad.
Eric Lichaj
The American right-back found himself out of contention at the start of the season, following a minor knock which he collected in a pre-season training incident.
The former Aston Villa man has passion in abundance and the fact that he can deputise at left-back makes him a particularly valuable member of the squad.
Lichaj performed well in an unnatural left-back position in a 3-1 win over Leeds United last weekend and his absence is certainly noticeable when he is not among the back four.
Still only 27-years-old, the tough-tackling performer still has his best years ahead of him and Forest moved quickly in March to tie him down to a new deal.
Henri Lansbury
Lansbury goes down as an underrated member of the squad in my eyes purely because some sections of the City Ground support refuse to give him the credit he deserves.
The ex-Arsenal man speaks openly and honestly in interviews and clearly values the fact that he plays for a club like Nottingham Forest.
Since arriving at the City Ground in 2012, Lansbury has been asked to play in a number of different midfield roles and he has done his level best when called upon.
Utilising Lansbury as a holding midfielder is a complete waste of time but hopefully over the next few months we will see the 25-year-old in the final third of the pitch, doing what he does best and linking up with attacking players.
Damien Perquis
The solid central defender came in for some criticism from the Forest contingent following a below-par start to life in the Championship in games against Brighton and Brentford.
After serving a suspension for a sending-off against the Bees he was thrust straight back into the starting line-up for the games against Leeds last weekend.
If the Polish international continues to show the solid style of defending which he showed against the Whites for the rest of the campaign, he could become the ace in Forest’s pack.
Perquis netted a superb headed goal in the second half and formed a solid looking partnership with Michael Mancienne, which looks to bode well for the next few months.
Nottingham Forest fans, is there someone else in the squad that you think is also underrated? Let us know in the comments below!!!