Nottingham Forest

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The Premier League returns on Saturday as Nottingham Forest travel to Liverpool in hope of another shock victory at Anfield like last season.

But there is no doubt it will be more challenging after Sean Dyche went in to Thursday's news conference with a hand-written injury list - an indication into just how many absentees Forest still have.

"It doesn't sound like any of them except Callum Hudson-Odoi are particularly close to a return," said Colin Fray on BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast. "One or two are back on the grass but most of them are still working with the medical team.

"It looks like these injuries will drag on and Dyche is loathed to put any time scales on any of them.

"It is a bit of worry for Dyche that he has got fewer bodies to choose from, especially now the international break is out of the way because there was hope two or three might be back by now.

"It is a hectic period coming up as they play midweek for the next three weeks as well as at the weekends, so there is no rest-bite in the fixture list from now on.

"It was not really positive news."

Travelling to the reigning champions with a depleted squad does not sound like an easy feat but Forest fans can take some hope from the fact Liverpool went into the international break in poor league form.

"It is a fascinating time to go and play them," added Fray. "It is hard to work out why it has gone wrong for them having spent a lot of money in the summer to strengthen a title winning team but it just has.

"Yet when they can't put a run together in the Premier League they can beat Real and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield!

"If Alexander Isak is fit and plays then he will no doubt score because he always does against Forest and if we are to get anything from the game then we have to be as good as we were last season.

"Forest have got to do their best to make sure it is not on this day that Liverpool recover from their slump."

Listen to the full episode here

Manchester United are eyeing Elliot Anderson, 23, but face competition from Liverpool and Newcastle for the £100m-rated England and Nottingham Forest midfielder. (Times - subscription required, external)

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

A new episode of BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast is available on BBC Sounds.

David Jackson and Colin Fray look ahead to Saturday's trip to face Liverpool at Anfield.

Also, hear from fan Stephen Crean, who was among multiple people stabbed on a train in Cambridgeshire earlier this month and hailed a hero after confronting the attacker.

Listen to the full episode here

Explore all Nottingham Forest content on BBC Sounds

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

One of potentially the biggest moments in English football is coming on Friday, but precious few people understand how important it could be or even know about it.

The Premier League is considering 'anchoring' wages, which would cap the amount any club could spend on their squad at five times the smallest central Premier League broadcasting and prize money payout.

It is a complex argument. The league and some clubs are considering it because they want to ensure wage inflation does not continue to rise endangering their long-term financial security. From the other side - the players and their union, the PFA - this unnaturally limits the amount they can earn in what has until now been a free and open market.

Any changes to that position foisted upon the players without their prior consultation and agreement will not go down well. Remember, the players are the people that the paying public, the TV companies and the advertisers want to see, not a bunch of chairmen, executives and directors arguing over accounts, dividends and profit margins.

The game has increased the number of games played per season without consulting those who are physically doing it. No studies on how that will affect their health in the short and long term were considered, and so the PFA in England looks like it is finally ready to take a strong stand for its members.

Strike ballots are not unknown, I should know, as chairman of the PFA my name was on the bottom of every ballot paper when we last considered strike action over changes in working conditions. The modern owners may have forgotten, but we had 99% backing from our members.

Owners may think of footballers as ultra wealthy, mercenary, thickos who can easily be controlled - well they thought that last time and they lost.

It is time for serious and meaningful negotiation between equals and not a master and serf attitude from one side towards the other.

Sign up to read more from Pat Nevin in his Football Extra newsletter

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is "making good progress" and is "in consideration" for the squad on Saturday. Meanwhile, forward Chris Wood is being rescanned but it is "good news so far", and Douglas Luiz is making progress so it will be "a matter of time but not instant".

• Dyche added that Wood's knee injury is "nothing too serious" and this is just a "settling period" for it.

• Dilane Bakwa, Ola Aina and Oleksandr Zinchenko are "making progress" but are still with the sports science and physios side of their recovery.

• The Forest boss said they will not know the impact of the win over Leeds United and subsequent international break "until the whistle blows", but "a break was needed" to give themselves more time with the players and for those injured to miss fewer games.

• He added: "We're building a feeling among the group that we think is positive. There were good signs after the Leeds game of that feeling, not just with a performance and result, but also the connection that you get after the game and that good feeling in the camp and around the club."

• On what midfielder Elliott Anderson's ceiling is: "He is a good player. He's got everything in front of him and I've spoke to him about what I call the nuts and bolts of his performances, but not at any length - less is more, I think, for him. He's naturally going about his business the right way, he's learning the game as he goes, so input is over coaching someone and you've got to be careful with that."

• Asked whether they can take confidence from winning at Anfield last season and good results he has had with previous sides, Dyche responded: "You want a team and yourself to be confident wherever you go. You can't guarantee these things but I think we've got a team that can compete. That's a big thing. We want to be competitive in every game. We're beginning to build that mentality."

• Dyche said the club "has shown they're willing to invest when they need to" as the winter transfer window approaches, adding: "But it's a constant thing, looking at players' availability, the shifting sands of football. Who is moving where? Who is doing what? That's football, not just Nottingham Forest. Sometimes you sit tight because that is what the market says you can't [do]."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live commentary of Liverpool v Nottingham Forest at 15:00 on Saturday on BBC Sounds

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

One of the biggest stories of the Premier League season so far is the decline of goals scored in open play and how teams have been scoring more from set-pieces instead.

When we compare how goals have been scored to the first 11 games last season, there have been 39 fewer scored in open play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, giving us 13 fewer overall.

If we look at the bigger picture and the number of shots teams are taking, there have been an incredible 370 fewer in open play than at this stage last time out.

So which teams are most responsible for this change in how goals are scored this season?

The above graph compares how teams have gone up or down in numbers of set-piece and goals from open play compared with the same stage last season.

In terms of goals scored from open play, Wolves have seen by far the biggest decline, scoring just four in 11 games and that is 10 fewer than at this stage last season.

Outside of Wolves, the Premier League's decline in open play goals is very much a London thing, with five of the capital's seven sides scoring at least five goals fewer from open play than last season.

In fairness, that is largely down to them scoring lots of goals at the start of last season rather than them really struggling to score in open play this campaign.

Meanwhile Manchester City have seen the biggest increase, with all but one of their 23 goals scored this season coming in open play.

When it comes to goals scored from set-pieces (excluding penalties), Arsenal and Chelsea have seen the biggest increase, with both sides replacing the five fewer goals that they have scored in open play with the same number from dead-ball situation.

Manchester United have scored twice as many goals from set-pieces as they did in the 11 games before Ruben Amorim took charge last season.

On the flipside, Manchester City do not seem to have got the memo about scoring more from set-pieces because they've scored three fewer than last season, as have Nottingham Forest, although that might be down to the change in style they have tried to implement.

Read more about this season's scoring trends here

Emlyn Begley
BBC Sport journalist

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The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off earlier than usual this year, with up to 17 Premier League clubs set to be affected by players jetting off to host country Morocco.

The tournament runs from 21 December until 18 January.

There has been no official announcement about which date clubs will have to release their players by - and it could vary depending on agreements.

Players could miss up to six, or in some cases seven, Premier League matches - plus FA Cup and Carabao Cup games - if they reach the final.

The group stages end on 31 December, so quickly eliminated players may only miss half that amount.

Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds do not have any players due to play in the 2025 Afcon - with Sunderland and Wolves losing the most players.

• Aston Villa - 1

• Bournemouth - 1

• Brentford - 2

• Brighton - 1

• Burnley - 3

• Crystal Palace - 1 to 4

• Everton - 2 to 3

• Fulham - 3

• Liverpool - 1

• Manchester City - 2

• Manchester United - 3

• Newcastle United - 0 to 1

• Nottingham Forest - 1 to 4

• Sunderland - 7

• Tottenham - 1 to 2

• West Ham United - 2

• Wolves - 5

Read the full article here to know which players will feature at Afcon

Colin Fray
BBC Radio Nottingham reporter

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Nobody expected the start to the season Nottingham Forest have gone through.

Three managers before the November international break is clearly not where the club wanted or expected to be.

Yet over the past few weeks, the appointment of Sean Dyche and backroom staff steeped in Forest history has steadied things.

It has brought a return to the traits and feelings that served the club well over the previous four years or so: togetherness, determination and belief.

On the pitch, there has been a return to other familiar things.

Firstly, clean sheets: two in the Europa League, though a Premier League blank remains elusive. Secondly, and most importantly, wins: a crucial one in Europe and one against Leeds for their first in the Premier League since the opening day.

Goals are starting to become more abundant and smiles are back on faces around the City Ground too, despite still being in a very perilous position and having a seven-man injury list for Leeds' visit.

The Reds' current absentees include striker Chris Wood, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, right-back Ola Aina and midfielder Douglas Luiz.

But there is a belief that things are looking up under Dyche and there is also hope the international break will have helped some of those injured players recover.

There is also confidence that performances and therefore league position - both domestic and in Europe - will improve.

Listen to full commentary on every Nottingham Forest game, and In The Game every weeknight from 18:00, on BBC Radio Nottingham.

And subscribe to the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast on BBC Sounds.

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Which player is flying?: Elliot Anderson is the player who's really excelling at the moment. It does not need much explanation — his statistics are the best in the Premier League, he's slotted into the England side without any trouble whatsoever and almost every single game for Forest shows off something we have not seen from him yet.

Which player is floundering?: There are several new signings that have not quite found their way yet, although I suspect James McAtee is the one who has really struggled to make an impact. As ever, patience is required and we might not see the best of the likes of McAtee, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Dilane Bakwa until next season. The talent is evidently there - sometimes it just takes time.

Tactically I think... we are still playing catch-up. The plan after last season was to play with greater possession and be less dependent on counter-attacking. The swing to Ange Postecoglou was very clearly too far but Sean Dyche still has some tinkering to be done after he has dealt with the basics.

I want my manager to give me more... goals. It's early days to be demanding too much of Dyche as he's got a lot on his plate, although after he's got us organised at set pieces we really need to start scoring more. Three against Leeds United changed the mood so hopefully we will be less dependent on Chris Wood this season.

Our fans seem obsessed with... Crystal Palace. You could probably argue it the other way though as the anger is mostly from south London, but our fans have had a very strange relationship with Crystal Palace since they did their own damage to themselves and we simply asked Uefa a question.

But they should be thinking about... the Europa League. That is what the antagonism was over and it is really where we need to be concentrating - after the league, of course. The squad is big enough to cope with the demands. It is just about getting everyone up to speed so we are not so dependent on our first XI for the Thursday-Sunday-Thursday-Sunday games.

My expectations for the season were... equalling or bettering last season. Finishing in the top six was always going to be tough but aside from losing Anthony Elanga, we strengthened the squad. Now, however, we will be delighted with a top-10 finish - and even that is still a long way off.

Score for the season so far: Three. It can improve dramatically but it has been a tough few months.

One sentence on how you're feeling right now: Vaguely optimistic that we can turn things around. We might still be in the bottom three but a few wins and other results going our way will dramatically affect the table.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

Over the past week, we have been asking you to send in the best Premier League XI your club could have put together.

We know football existed before 1992 but as a Leeds United fan asked our experts on the club to name theirs - using the Ask Me Anything form on the Whites - we stuck with their parameters.

Here's the effort of BBC Sport's Forest fan writer Pat Riddell.

And you can ask us about the Hammers using their Ask Me Anything form at the top of this page or here

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

Nottingham Forest will not consider selling England midfielder Elliot Anderson in the forthcoming transfer window and value the 23-year-old in excess of £100m amid strong interest from Manchester United and his former club Newcastle. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

We have, roughly, run the numbers and here is the XI your submissions have produced.

Three fifths of Nottingham Forest's watertight defence from last season has been joined by club legend Stuart Pearce and penalty-saving expert Mark Crossley in a backline that should prove tough to breach.

In midfield, do not expect Morgan Gibbs-White to play rigidly on the left, but he needed fitting in alongside a combative and destructive pairing of Roy Keane and Elliot Anderson.

Up front, Stan Collymore was a shoo-in but finding a partner proved tricky. Chris Wood's heroics in 2024-25 no doubt helped sway the vote.

Maybe get Brian Clough in charge of this bunch - or Nuno Espirito Santo? - and watch them shoot up the league.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

The statistics might say playing at home is an advantage - but what happens when it is not?

So far this season, 53% of Premier League matches have been won by the home team - the highest ever rate in a single campaign.

On the flip side, just 26% have been won by the away team - the lowest rate since 2010-11.

However, this has not been the case for all teams.

For some, being on the road has been more favourable. Tottenham are perhaps the most contrasting example having the joint-most points away from home with 13, but the second-worst in front of their own fans with just five points.

In the second part of her chat with BBC Sport, performance psychologist Marie Cartwright explained: "With crowds when playing away from home, there is a reduced scrutiny as a whole for away teams in that those crowds expect the home team to be the ones in charge. The players feel less judged. The pressure is on the other side.

"Another reason could come down to something in psychology I like to call simplification of the task. The team has a better collective identity when they are away.

"The human brain still goes back to the cavemen days. We have to, as a collective, fight for something. We have to protect our name. It goes back to that hunter-gatherer-against-danger mentality.

"When players are in front of a home crowd, there can be a bit of playing up to the individuality.

"I really do believe that collective identity has a strong enough influence because it amplifies the purpose and the belonging - let's belong together, let's be stronger together."

The focus might be on the players' performances being impacted by being home or away, but what about the managers?

Wolves, West Ham and Nottingham Forest make up three of the bottom four for their home records so far this term, and all have changed their manager in recent weeks.

"100% managers and coaches can be affected, and sometimes even more so because there is so much riding on that one person," Cartwright said.

"The decision-making is the main thing. The crowd is chanting - 'take this player off, do this' - and it can lead to rushed decisions, particularly when the noise becomes relentless.

"Then there is the emotional regulation and touchline behaviour. A manager is pacing up and down, mirroring the stress state, and players see that. It can lead to mimicking and players feeling that stress too."

The impact on teams psychologically playing home or away is apparent, so how can they make the most from these different conditions?

"Our brains are wired to think negatively - it's a protection mechanism," Cartwright said.

"So when it comes to performing home and away, those players and managers who deal with it best are those who know how to use the noise and scrutiny and move on quickly from it - an ability to have a reset routine and regulate their emotions in these pressurised situations."

Read more from Marie in part one of her chat around the impact of playing at home here

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

"Home advantage gives you an advantage."

It is a quote - among many - attributed to the famous former England manager Sir Bobby Robson - a simple, yet fair reflection of a historical format of football.

For as long as teams have played in leagues, games taking place home and away has been the norm, with the idea that playing at home will be to the benefit of that team.

But what is the impact of playing at your own ground in front of your own fans?

In the first part of her chat with BBC Sport, performance psychologist Marie Cartwright explained: "Home impact can be viewed in two ways. Sometimes it does have a positive impact, and what happens is there is an elevated motivation.

"What that means is the crowd energy increases adrenaline and that creates a momentum in effort and intensity in the players. It is also a familiar environment for the players, so that means it reduces the cognitive load. They don't have to think as much about anything else other than their play because they know the pitch, they know the routines, they feel settled.

"However, there are a couple of potential negative impacts as well, with the potential intensification in pressure in the home fans, most times, expecting dominance from the home team. That can lead to mistakes from players feeling bigger to them.

"There can then be what we call a threat state. The players might perceive consequences as high, so they feel they might be facing more criticism when they are at home."

While those who watch football know there are more factors than just where the match is being to take into consideration, the statistics do suggest the influence is there.

Since the Premier League started, the home win percentage has outweighed the away win percentage in all bar one season - the Covid-hit 2020-21 campaign in which fans were largely not allowed admission saw a 38% home win rate compared to 40% away win rate.

So how a team handles this additional crowd pressure seems to be a key factor.

"In psychology, there is something called the challenge and threat theory," Cartwright said.

"In reality what that means is a 'challenge state' can push the player into thinking, 'I've got this, I've got the resources to cope with this'. That leads to better decision making and quicker reactions.

"The threat state, on the other hand, players might think the consequences outweigh their ability to cope. In any match context, that can mean they have a narrow sense of focus, the focus is not quite the same, so the play becomes slower because of overthinking."

"It can also be called 'red brain or blue brain' - with red brain being the one with fear-based dialogue and internal negative self-talk, while blue brain is the cool, calm and collected one that can handle its emotions.

"What sits in the middle of these is distraction. How a player responds to distraction and filters out the noise, like the crowd, can impact which of these mindsets they move into and ultimately how the team performs."

Read more from Marie in part two of her chat about why teams some teams play better away from home and how it impacts managers - that will be on this page early next week.

Here's another clutch of selections for your best Premier League XI.

See what you make of them.

Craig: 5-3-2. Navas, Aina, Walker, Milenkovic, Murillo, Pearce, Keane, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Collymore, Van Hooijdonk. Love to see Psycho in a wing-back position with Aina on right. Could Collymore and Van Hooijdonk play together?

Matthew: 4-4-2. Henderson, Pearce, Walker, Milenkovic, Williams, Keane, Anderson, Bohinen, Clough, Collymore, Elanga. Mixture of old and new. Intelligence, skill and pace.

Mark: 4-4-2. Crossley (if only Samba!), Pearce, Walker, Milenkovic, Aina, Keane, Clough, Anderson, Woan, Collymore, Van Hooijdonk - despite his strike, he was brilliant at free-kicks! Solid defence for sure with a mix of creative ability and combative midfield with quite a few goals too. Collymore is the best striker we've had in the Premier League era.

Terry: 4-2-3-1. Crossley, Williams, Walker, Murillo, Pearce, Anderson, Keane, Stone, Gibbs-White, Roy, Collymore. Walker and Psycho with Williams and Murillo. No goals conceded and with Anderson and Keane holding, no-one is getting through. Then MGW, Stone and Roy supplying the greatest striker we've had. Goals galore.

Martin: 4-4-1-1. Beasant, Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Pearce, Bohinen, Stone, Woan, Gibbs-White, Collymore, Roy. The mid 1990s squad were amazing going forward. The defence now is stronger.

Doug: 4-4-2. Sels, Williams, Walker, Milenkovic, Pearce, Keane, Anderson, Stone, Woan, Collymore, Clough. So many quality players to choose from but reliability and class had to be the top priority.

George Mills
BBC Sport senior journalist

In a recent addition of the Football Extra newsletter, Roger asked BBC Sport: Players are frequently injured on international duty - such as Chris Wood for New Zealand last season, which may have ultimately cost Nottingham Forest a Champions League place. Are clubs compensated by the country or does insurance cover compensation?'

Since 2012, Fifa's Club Protection Programme has covered the salary of players injured on international duty - although there are some conditions.

Firstly, the player must be out of action for a period of at least 28 consecutive days and the injury must have been sustained during an "accident", which is defined in very boring and legally-specific detail in Fifa's guidelines, though it covers most of the examples you could think of.

The scheme pays the salary of an injured player up to the maximum amount of €7.5m (£6.6m) until they are declared fit to return for their clubs.

Transfermarkt lists Chris Wood as missing 18 days - three games - with the hip injury you mention from last March, suffered on international duty with New Zealand. As he returned inside 28 days, Forest would not have been eligible to claim compensation.

There are a couple of clubs who will currently be beneficiaries of this scheme though, including Newcastle United, whose £55m summer signing Yoane Wissa is yet to make an appearance since suffering a knee injury while playing for DR Congo.

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Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson is a "fabulous asset" for club and country and should be "on the plane" for England at the 2026 World Cup, says BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray.

"It is great for Forest fans to have a player like that to watch week in week out at the moment," Fray said. "He just keeps delivering all of these excellent performances.

"We always talk about players wanting to maintain consistent 7 out of 10 performances but he isn't just consistently a 7 out of 10, he is performing at way higher levels than that.

"He is a fabulous asset for Sean Dyche and Thomas Tuchel to have, and he has proven himself at international level over the first four games of his England career.

"It was interesting to hear Tuchel talk about there being 'no guarantees' that Anderson will be included in his World Cup squad in his press conference.

"You wouldn't expect him to tout Anderson as a shoo-in just yet, but as long as he doesn't pick up any injury issues and he continues to perform at this level - touch wood - then I don't think there's much doubt around him being on the plane."

Anderson impressed again in Thursday's 2-0 win over Serbia at Wembley and has only missed 21 minutes of England action since making his debut in September.

"It's going to be really interesting to see how he develops from here because, certainly at club level and international level, he is clearly a big asset to his coaches," Fray added.

"In Dyche and Tuchel, he also has coaches that can help him improve even further."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

The latest episode of Shut Up And Show More Football has landed.

BBC Radio Nottingham's David Jackson and Colin Fray are on hand to discuss Sean Dyche's first win as Nottingham Forest boss, as the Reds hit three goals past Leeds United at the City Ground.

The pair also talk about Morgan Gibbs-White's omission from Thomas Tuchel's squad for England's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania.

Plus the compliments keep rolling in for Elliot Anderson, so the midfielder is on the running order again.

Listen to the full episode here

Explore all Nottingham Forest content on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

We wanted your suggestions for Nottingham Forest's all-time best Premier League XI.

And you delivered!

Here's a first bunch:

Tim: 4-4-2. Sels, Cash, Pearce, Murillo, Cooper, Stone, Keane, Anderson, Woan, Collymore and Roy. Close calls for many positions.

Dave: 4-3-3. Crossley, Pearce, Walker, Murillo, Milenkovic, Clough, Stone, Keane, Collymore, Elanga, Carr. A mix of legends and recent. Psycho as captain obviously.

Anthony: 4-4-2. Crossley, Little, Cooper, Milenkovic, Pearce, Stone, Bohinen, Anderson, Woan and Collymore. The 1994-95 Forest team that finished third was the best I've seen in the Premier League and so dominates my team. I could have named all 11 players from that season but Mikenkovic and Anderson were great last season.

Steve: 4-4-1-1. Henderson (not Samba sorry), Aina, Murillo, Milenkovic, Pearce, Stone, Keane, Anderson, Woan, Gibbs-White, Collymore. The 1994-96 team had some brilliant players that would grace the current squad. Collymore is the best ever Forest striker and Pearce the best ever player while Stone and Woan could score and create. Imagine Keane and Anderson in midfield! Gibbs-White would link up the play and the defence is solid. What a team!

Stephen. 4-4-2. Crossley, Williams, Pearce, Milenkovic, Cooper, Stone, Anderson, Clough, Woan, Collymore, Wood. If football began in 1992!

Darren: 4-2-3-1. Crossley, Pearce, Cooper, Murillo, Lyttle, Anderson, Keane, Stone, Roy, Woan, Collymore. Solid defence, combative and skillful midfield and the best striker we've had in a long time.

Image source, Getty Images

England boss Thomas Tuchel says Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson is "one of the best midfielders in the Premier League" after his "impressive" performances in recent international camps.

"Anderson is a key player for us at the moment," said Tuchel. "He is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League - that's why he is with us and starting for us.

"He deserves it because he has been nothing but impressive. He has to keep on going now though. He is a very complete and mobile midfielder, and that's what he keeps showing me."

Despite the praise, Tuchel refused to be drawn on whether the 23-year-old has cemented his spot in England's World Cup squad yet.

"He still has a long career ahead of him and a long way to go," Tuchel explained. "There are no guarantees, especially not publicly, for the World Cup.

"It doesn't help me right now to give predictions or guarantees to my players because it is all about competition at the moment.

"He is an elite player with the right attitude and a lot of talent. He is fulfilling his role in the best way possible so we are very happy with him."

It's international break so let's have a bit of fun to pass the time.

Now we know football existed before 1992 but for the purposes of this little exercise, keep it Premier League please.

So tell us, who would be in your dream Nottingham Forest Premier League XI?

The debate starts here.

Send your suggestions

Sin bins? Bonus points? Two goals if you score from distance?

Imagine a world in which you could reinvent football.

It's a dream, of course. Just a bit of fun. But stick with us.

What if you had the power to change any of the game's laws and potentially bring to an end countless hours of discussion about handball, offside, video assistant referees, or anything else you want to?

Some of BBC Sport's familiar football faces have offered their own potential rule changes.

Watch them above or read more here

Nottingham Forest Everton, Fulham and West Ham are monitoring Arsenal full-back Myles Lewis-Skelly's situation after England boss Thomas Tuchel said the 19-year-old needs more minutes to be considered for his squad. (Caught Offside, external), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column here

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