Nottinghamshire

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

So why was record signing Omari Hutchinson left out of Nottingham Forest's Europa League squad?

The winger, who joined for £37.5m from Ipswich this summer, is one of seven who will not play in the league stage of the competition.

Oleksandr Zinchenko, Angus Gunn, Jair Cunha and Cuiabano - who has returned to Botafogo on loan - along with Jota Silva and Taiwo Awoniyi are also omitted.

Forest have been restricted to 22 players given their lack of home grown players. Only Ryan Yates is in their list A squad.

Uefa want four club-trained players in squads, otherwise clubs are limited by the numbers they do not have, so Forest could only name a 22-man squad.

Regardless of the money spent Hutchinson is behind Callum Hudson-Odoi, one of last season's stars, and Dan Ndoye after his arrival from Bologna.

Winger Ndoye has started Forest's three Premier League games so far and has settled in quickly while deadline day signing Dilane Bakwa adds further competition.

The 23-year-old brings recent European experience with him from Strasbourg, having played in the Conference League this season.

Then Nuno and the club must think about the balance of the squad. Nicolas Dominguez is due to return from a knee injury this month but losing a midfielder could leave them short.

Nicolo Savona adds cover at left-back and can play centrally while Nikola Milenkovic can be pushed right if Ola Aina is missing.

Once the options are boiled down it becomes easier to understand the thought process, who would Hutchinson get in ahead of at this moment?

If he had arrived sooner - Ndoye joined at the end of July so had a couple of weeks more to adapt at Forest - it may have been different.

It may be a decision Forest regret - and one they can change in January - but taking away the hype of the transfer fee, Forest have taken a hard but rational decision.

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The FA will be forced to pay Nottingham Forest a significant sum after losing a landmark legal case with the Premier League club.

Forest faced disciplinary proceedings following their 2-0 defeat by Everton in April last year — a game that included three disputed penalty appeals — having posted on social media that they had warned the PGMOL that the VAR in the game, Stuart Attwell, was a supporter of relegation rivals Luton Town.

But Forest then complained that the barrister appointed to chair the disciplinary panel had been "biased" against them after the club questioned the £1m fine being sought by the FA.

Graeme McPherson KC had said at that hearing that he rejected "the club's somewhat hysterical submission".

However, lawyers have now found that McPherson's comment could be viewed as an "unjustified, inappropriate, and personal attack on the club" after they were fined £750,000 for the social media message, which was posted on platform X.

When Forest appealed the fine, McPherson was selected by the FA to chair the appeal.

However, Forest objected to that appointment because of his previous comments. McPherson eventually recused citing "pre-existing commitments".

But in October, the City Ground club were fined £125,000 for their part in a mass confrontation with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with their opponents also fined £40,000.

Forest appealed against that decision too, with McPherson once more appointed as the chair of the disciplinary panel.

The club argued that his appointment was inappropriate because of the "hysterical" remark and sought an arbitration hearing to resolve the issue.

And that hearing has agreed with Forest, concluding that this was "a case where apparent bias has been made out".

"There can be no doubt but that the description … as 'somewhat hysterical' can fairly be said to be, and would be seen by the notional fair-minded independent observer to be, an unjustified, inappropriate, and personal attack on the club and its legal representatives," the three-person panel, led by Kim Franklin KC, said.

McPherson contested Forest's view but the panel said his use of "hysterical" was "inherently highly pejorative".

A new chair of the panel for the appeal will have to be appointed, with the FA footing the legal bill.

The governing body will have to pay the cost of the tribunal, which was £105,750 plus VAT, and both its own and Forest's legal costs.

A new episode of Shut Up And Show More Football is now available to listen to or download on BBC Sounds.

On this week's episode, host David Jackson was joined by Colin Fray to discuss Forest's Europa league squad and Nuno Espirito Santo's future.

David described no "noises" from the Forest camp in terms of Nuno's future.

"There will be an obvious scrutiny on every decision Nuno makes," Colin added.

"There was a huge amount of positivity going into the West Ham game with the new signings and the squad being put together for the Europa League. The draw itself was made on the Friday before the game.

"Everyone turned up to the City Ground on Sunday with this buoyant feeling. And then the game started.

"You can't have this uncertainty and doubt going on. It has to be sorted. It feels like it's harming the club at the moment.

"Marinakis was talking in glowing terms about Nuno at the Europa League draw. I don't think he'll have that knee-jerk reaction of one bad game and you're out.

"Even if it resolved and Nuno stays in his post, I still think it's going to take him a few weeks and performances to completely regain the support from the Forest fans."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

The dust has just about settled on a busy transfer window for Nottingham Forest.

In total, Forest have made 13 signings for about £196m based on reported initial fees.

Those incomings were:

• Omari Hutchinson - Ipswich

• Dilane Bakwa - Strasbourg

• Dan Ndoye - Bologna

• Arnaud Kalimuendo - Rennes

• James McAtee - Manchester City

• Nicolo Savona - Juventus

• Jair Cunha - Botafogo

• Igor Jesus - Botafogo

• John Victor - Botafogo

• Cuiabano - Botafago

• Angus Gunn - Norwich City

• Douglas Luiz - Juventus (loan)

• Oleksandr Zinchenko - Arsenal (loan)

*All permanent unless otherwise stated

As for the outgoings, Anthony Elanga, Danilo and Wayne Hennessey were all among the players whose Forest careers ended this window.

Of all the summer incomings at the City Ground, who do you think will have the biggest impact?

Rank them here

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest have left record signing Omari Hutchinson out of their squad for the Europa League.

The winger, signed from Ipswich Town for £37.5m, is not included in the 22-man squad for Forest's first European campaign in 30 years.

Left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, a deadline day loan signing from Arsenal, is also left out.

Teams can name up to 25 players in their List A squads but Forest only have one club-trained player - Ryan Yates - who was at the club for three or more years between the age of 15 and 21.

Uefa want four club-trained players in squads, otherwise clubs are limited by the numbers they do not have, so Forest can only name a 22-man squad.

Forwards Jota Silva and Taiwo Awoniyi, who are able to leave the City Ground with the Saudi, Greek and Turkish transfer windows still open, are also not included.

Angus Gunn, Jair Cunha and Cuiabano - who has returned to Botafogo on loan - are omitted too.

Forest open their Europa League campaign with a trip to Real Betis on Wednesday, 24 September.

Arsenal and Barcelona are both showing strong interest in Nottingham Forest's 23-year-old Brazilian defender Murillo. (Caughtoffside), external

Forest forward Jota Silva, 26, could still leave for Saudi Arabia or Turkey after seeing a deadline-day move to Sporting collapse. Saudi Pro League side Neom SC are keen on the Portugal international. (Talksport), external

Forest are keen to raise funds following a busy summer transfer window which brought 13 arrivals to the first-team squad. (The Athletic - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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