Nottingham Forest

We asked for your views on the news that Ryan Yates has signed a new four-year contract with the club.

Here are some of your comments:

Jason: So pleased. Love Yatesy - he's Forest through and through and has such a great, positive attitude. He does all the little important things well, gets stuck in and gives 101% every game and is such a great guy as well. Proper role model. Well done, Yatesy! COYR!

Kris: Yates divides opinion with fans. Some idolise him and others point to a lack of end product and limited technical ability. What you do get is high energy, constant running and willingness to do the dirty work. For me, he's a starter and a worthy captain, despite the limitations. He breaks up play, frustrates opponents and lives and breathes NFFC.

Dave: Not overly impressed with this contract extension. Assume the contract is for circa £40K a week and, in my opinion, he simply isn't worth it. Yes he's a grafter and probably a solid Championship player - but not what we need. Just hope the contract includes a clause about playing the ball forward every now and then...

Ian: Absolutely delighted that we have rewarded Yates with a new deal. He totally wears the shirt with pride, always gives 100% and is a great example to the club. Brilliant.

Callum: Signing Yates to a new four-year deal is great foundations for the next four years. I know this lad will be a club captain even though he may begin to fade from being in the starting XI regularly. Yatesy brings so much to the game in midfield.

Gary: Nowhere near Premier League standard. Can't understand how he is ever in the starting XI, let alone skipper. Four more years of nothingness to look forward to.

The latest episode of the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast by BBC Radio Nottingham has landed.

David Jackson and Colin Fray discuss Ryan Yates' new contract and the club's pre-season training camp in Spain. And Charlie Slater speaks to striker Chris Wood about Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Nottingham Forest have rejected a West Ham bid for full-back Neco Williams. (HITC), external

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

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Nottingham Forest midfielder Ryan Yates has put pen to paper on a new four-year contract at the City Ground.

The academy graduate's previous deal was set to expire next summer, but he has now agreed terms with the club until June 2028.

Yates has made 203 senior appearances for the Reds - scoring 18 goals and registering nine assists since making his first-team debut in January 2019.

The 26-year-old was a key figure in Forest's promotion to the Premier League in 2021-2022 and he has continued to be a regular in the top-flight.

Are you happy Yates has extend his stay, Forest fans? Where do you think he will fit into Nuno's plans?

Let us know your thoughts here, external

Nottingham Forest have held talks with Argentine club Talleres about the possibility of signing 24-year-old Paraguay winger Ramon Sosa. (Nottingham Post), external

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

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Nottingham Forest's pre-season friendly against Elche has been moved from Saturday 27 July to Friday 26.

Kick-off at Pinatar Arena is 19:00 BST.

The club will issue a full refund to any supporters who can no longer attend the match.

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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It isn't quiet in one specific part of the major football clubs - the acquisitions department.

I know that because I was once the acquisitions department - well me and the manager mostly. While each player returned from holidays like a bronzed Adonis, we were cooped up in a small darkened room, beavering the daylight hours away like vampires.

There is plenty of guesswork in the media and a fair bit of leaking from the players and their people, but the clubs usually try to keep their transfer moves as quiet as possible.

If word gets out that a player is available, they know they might lose him to another club or else the price will increase as a bidding war erupts.

‌These are high stakes games and many are impressed by those who gamble and go early.

Manchester City have always been good enough, and let's be honest wealthy enough, to be able to do this well.

The problem is that some clubs are trying to do the same thing and are ending up paying top dollar for less able players, because they haven't done their due diligence in the market.

This is another area where the use of data, or maybe over-reliance on pure data, comes into play - feed all of the numbers in, let the technology do the crunching, and out comes the answer.

The problem is that everyone else has got the same or similar data.

What is needed, of course, is good human knowledge and the vision to aid the use of the information they have got. This is why these departments should be busy just now, they shouldn't just be doing deals which are admittedly very complex legal and financial documents these days.

Even more time should be spent on ensuring the new £75m player hasn't got a hidden weakness in his game or even the odd skeleton in his closet.

Pat Nevin was writing for the BBC Football Extra Newsletter

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest have acted fast in the summer transfer window, bringing in five new additions for the 2024-25 season, but Nuno Espirito Santo has revealed the Reds could still make some more signings before deadline day.

Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham, the Forest boss said: "We have some players but the squad is not closed yet.

"We still have aspects to decide. We are working with players who came back from their loans, so we have to have a good look at them and make the right decisions for them.

"It was more important that we were able to keep our [best] players, so I'm really happy that we - as a club - are keeping our most important players.

"After the work of last season, I believe that this is what's going to give us that improvement through to this season."

On needing to sell players before that 30 June 'profit and sustainability deadline', Nuno insisted: "The club did well. We don't have to worry about that issue any more."

BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray believes supporters should not be worrying about another points deduction after Nuno's comments.

"That is the first real public statement that we have had from Forest since 30 June," he said on the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast.

"We have been talking about how there seems to be a confidence around the club that they have done enough and that it won't be an issue this year like it was last year. Now we have it [confirmation] from Nuno himself."

Listen to the latest Shut Up And Show More Football podcast on BBC Sounds

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We asked for your views on Nottingham Forest's 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Friday.

Here are some of your responses:

Carlton: A decent workout and plenty of attacking intent on display. We really do need a dynamic striker, though. It has been our Achilles heel for the past couple of seasons and still is.

Andrea: Lots of one-touch passing down the left-hand side between Aina, Dominguez, Danilo, Gibbs-White and Hudson-Odoi, giving Forest most of the possession in the first half and enabling them to create some good chances. Anderson looked at home in the second half.

Kris: Sangare looked solid again and it was great to see Richards on the scoresheet after a nightmare start to his Forest career. We are clearly short of strikers, though, and hopefully we will see another quality addition in that position before the season starts.

Nottingham Forest’s first pre-season friendly from their trip to Spain ended in a 1-1 draw against Sunderland.

Omar Richards scored two minutes into his first appearance for the club with an impressive finish in off the crossbar.

What did you learn from the performance, Forest fans?

Let us know your thoughts, external

The latest Shut Up And Show More Football is available and on this weeks show, BBC Radio Nottingham's David Jackson and Colin Fray look back on the Reds' first pre-season friendly against Chesterfield.

They catch up with boss Nuno Espirito Santo after the win and also speak to new recruit Elliot Anderson about his move to The City Ground.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Following the news of Nottingham Forest signing defender Nikola Milenkovic on Thursday from Fiorentina, we asked you to have your say on the new recruit.

Here are a selection of your comments:

Will: Having watched a lot of Serie A over the last few seasons, I'm delighted with the signing if I'm honest. Milenkovic has been a dominant force for La Viola over the last few campaigns. I'm certain that this will have ruffled a few feathers amongst the Fiorentina fanbase as it's a good price for a smart defender who will replace Niakhate well.

Shaun: We have been conceding too many goal from set pieces for far too long, his record for headers won along with his strength and mobility he will make us a stronger team. He is not breaking the bank with his price either while being a decent age.

Tim: Milenkovic for £12m is an amazing bit of business. He is an upgrade on Niakhate and the long term successor to Boly. Really excited to have signed him ahead of any other competition and will hopefully massively improve our attacking and defensive record from set pieces

Peter: If he can adapt quickly, playing alongside Murillo at the back, it will be exciting to see what they can achieve. We've needed a commanding presence at the back since we were promoted - good to see that arriving now!

Roland: Great signing for us, really loving the transfer approach so far - quality over quantity.

Kris: At last, it feels like we've turned the corner with transfers this season. Milenkovic is exactly the sort of player we've needed in our shaky defence, often conceding from set pieces. He'll add much-needed steel and experience of top level football. Quietly confident we'll be singing his name.

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It seems inevitable a host of Premier League managers will point to fixture congestion in the months to come.

When injuries mount, or when time on the training ground is squeezed, coaches often reference the intense nature of the calendar.

But research conducted by the respected CIES Football Observatory has delivered data which shows clubs are - on average - not playing more competitive games than they have in the last couple of decades.

The CIES looked at 677 clubs across 40 leagues. In looking at a period from 2012 to 2024, its findings show in 2023-24, the average club played 42.4 competitive matches. In 2014-15 that figure was 42.6 and in 2020-21 it hit 43.9.

And if focus is placed on sides competing in the Champions League, data gathered between 2000 and 2024 also shows sides are not setting fixture records in the current game, as some managers may like to loosely imply.

In looking at the five major European Leagues, the CIES claim Champions League competitors played an average of 50.8 matches last season.

In 2020-21 they averaged 57.9 and in 2002-03 they contested 55.2.

Manchester United played in 52 competitive games last season, down from highs of 71 in 2020-21 and 66 in 2008-09.

Across all of the clubs analysed, only 4% played more than 60 games last season. In 2012-13, the figure stood at 5.1%.

While clubs may play added friendlies and - it would be fair to say - individual matches tend to be longer given increased injury time in the current game, the data shows that competitive fixture numbers are flat or have in most cases fallen, even if disgruntled managers say otherwise.

The full study is here, external

Slobodan Maricic
BBC Serbia journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It was the 42nd minute of 2017 Serbian Cup final between the two Belgrade giants, Red Star and Partizan, when the black-and-whites had a corner.

As the ball flew in front of the Red Star goalkeeper, a 19-year-old Nikola Milenkovic met it to score.

In his final game for Partizan he had got the winner against their arch-rivals - and it is a goal fans will never forget.

Even though still a teenager at the time, Milenkovic was one of the best Partizan players - a defensive anchor who played a key role in their last Serbian league title win.

He had come to Partizan at 15 after a trial at the academy, and at a young age was compared to former Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic - and after only 36 games for the club, he got a transfer to Fiorentina.

Milenkovic also became a regular for Serbia. He has 57 caps for this country and has appeared at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and at Euro 2024.

He played 264 times for Fiorentina over almost seven years, featuring in their Europa Conference League final defeats in 2023 and 2024.

The 26-year-old will not be the only Nottingham Forest player schooled in a Belgrade footballing academy.

Marko Stamenic, the defensive midfielder from New Zealand with Serbian origins, came from Red Star in January, but was initially sent out on loan to Olympiakos.

The previous season, the 22-year-old played in the Champions League against Manchester City, Young Boys and RB Leipzig, and eventually won the Serbian league and cup double.

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest have signed defender Nikola Milenkovic from Fiorentina, who will form "key part" of their squad.

The 26-year-old has joined on a five-year-deal from the Serie A side, who he made 264 appearances for across a seven-year spell, for a fee believed to be about £12m.

The centre-back was a key part of the Fiorentina team last season, playing 50 times across all competitions and helping them reach the final of the Uefa Europa Conference League.

A Serbia international, Milenkovic has played 57 times for his country including every minute of their Euro 2024 campaign in Germany.

Forest's chief football officer Ross Wilson said: "We are excited to welcome Nikola to Nottingham Forest. He is a key part of our squad planning this summer and I know how enthusiastic he has been to join the club.

"We have long admired his performances with the Serbian national team, and in Serie A and European competitions for Fiorentina.

"We are delighted that he will bring his experience and qualities to Nottingham Forest."

How do you feel about the signing, Reds fans? The type of player the team needs?

Let us know here, external

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Fiorentina and Serbia defender Nikola Milenkovic is due to have his medical at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

The Reds need defensive reinforcements after selling centre-back Moussa Niakhate to Lyon for £27m.

Milenkovic has 56 caps for Serbia and he played in all of their Group C games at Euro 2024, including the 1-0 defeat by England.

The 26-year-old started his career at Partizan and spent two seasons in their first team before joining Fiorentina in 2017.

In his seven-year stint at the Serie A club, Milenkovic has made 264 appearances, scoring 17 goals and providing five assists.

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest forward Taiwo Awoniyi will not be travelling to the Reds' pre-season training camp in Spain with the rest of the squad.

The 26-year-old was also unavailable for the club's first pre-season friendly against Chesterfield on Saturday.

BBC Radio Nottingham understands he is dealing with a personal family matter, and his absence is not injury related.