Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has made some damning admissions about the club ahead of the Premier League starting this weekend.
In just hours, the 2025/26 Premier League season will begin as reigning champions Liverpool welcome Bournemouth to Anfield for the opening fixture of the first round of matches.
With this weekend marking the first time that many Premier League sides will be competing in a competitive match since their final match last season, fans will be eager to see exactly how each team is looking.
After a busy transfer that has seen many of the clubs across the division bring in some exciting new signings, fans of several clubs have good reason to be optimistic for the upcoming campaign.
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But it appears this may not be the case for Nottingham Forest fans, as manager Nuno has made some concerning comments ahead of the season beginning.
Forest get their Premier League season underway with a favourable fixture against Brentford at the City Ground, with several of the club's new players expected to be in action.
So far this summer, the midlands club have made four new signings, with winger Dan Ndoye joining from Bologna, striker Igor Jesus and defender Jair Cunha coming from Botafogo, and former Norwich City goalkeeper Angus Gunn signing as a free agent.
But for Nuno this isn't enough, as he called out the club for their lack of preparation heading into what he expects to be a particularly 'demanding' season.
“We are very, very far from where we should be, very far,” Nuno told Sky Sports in an interview recorded earlier this week.
“In terms of preparation, planning, squad — we are all very worried that we are playing in the most demanding league in the world and we are very far.
“The plans that we had did not come through, the preparation in terms of the squad was not ideal, we did not have the chance to create the bonds because we did not know what squad we would have.
“We have players here that know they will leave on loan. We have a major problem.”
Despite this, a recent report from The Athletic revealed that Forest had agreed a deal for Manchester City’s James McAtee in a deal worth £30million, while the club remains in negotiations for a club record £37.5m transfer for Ipswich Town forward Omari Hutchinson.
Earlier in the window, Forest also managed to fend off interest from Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur for star player Morgan Gibbs-White, who penned a new deal last month.
Topics: Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo, Premier League, Football, Transfers, James McAtee
Ben McCrum