Nottingham Forest could well go in search of a new striker during the January transfer window.

 

That isn’t anything to do with what Chris Wood might have done with the New Zealand striker bagging 12 goals during the first 20 games of the campaign.

 

 

Shay Given has given Wood a new nickname this season but competition is in short supply on Trentside when it comes to players who can lead the line.

 

Taiwo Awoniyi was praised by Jamie Carragher on Monday but the fact remains that his goal against Wolves is the only strike he’s managed across the 2024/25 season.

 

Competition isn’t overly forthcoming for Wood and Awoniyi so with that in mind, it remains a subject of discussion that Forest might look to land another striker.

 

Igor Jesus gives green light to Nottingham Forest move

According to The Sun, the Botafogo striker has now given the green light for Premier League clubs to move amid links with Forest.

 

The Reds aren’t the only club vying to sign the striker who is valued at £21 million, with Fulham boss Marco Silva and Ipswich also keen to land him before the window closed.

 

A 23-year-old striker, Jesus has bagged 56 goals in 168 appearances for his current club who were crowned Brazilian champions for the first time this season.

 

 

It was claimed recently that Arsenal wanted Jesus but Botafogo weren’t keen on letting him leave on loan which was the type of deal that the Gunners had pushed for.

 

Jesus fits the profile that Forest will look for

Bizarrely, Forest won’t want a striker to come in who is going to complain about a lack of first-team football given how well Wood is playing.

 

The 33-year-old is going to remain as the team’s main talisman and if a striker comes in it needs to be someone who can provide something different.

 

Jesus is a player who would have to prove himself in England and with Forest going well in the league, the pressure would be off to a certain extent.

 

At 23, he has bags of time on his side and the Brazilian talisman looks like the sort of player who the recruitment team will view as having the perfect profile.

 

Nottingham Forest have moved up to third in the Premier League table after running out 1-0 winners over Tottenham Hotspur at the City Ground on Boxing Day.

 

The high-flying Reds scored what turned out to be the winner in the 28th minute of the game as Anthony Elanga struck following a swift counter-attack.

 

Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White slid the ball through to Elanga, who curled past Spurs keeper Fraser Forster for a goal which stood following a VAR check.

 

Tottenham couldn’t come back from Elanga’s goal, and insult was added to injury when Djed Spence was sent off for two needless bookings late on in the game.

 

Spence, who actually played well for Spurs, was shown his first yellow on 75 minutes for kicking the ball away shortly after conceding a free-kick.

 

And in injury time, the former Forest loanee dragged Jota down during a counter to earn himself a second booking and an early bath.

 

Forest fans on social media had a lot to say about Spence in the latter stages of the game at the City Ground.

 

English referee Craig Pawson shows a red card to Tottenham Hotspur’s English defender #24 Djed Spence (R) during the English Premier League footbal…

 

Nottingham Forest fans poke fun at Djed Spence after beating Tottenham

Many Forest fans joked about “agent Spence” after his sending-off helped weaken Tottenham further and helped the Reds see out the victory.

 

“Special Agent Spence working undercover for us,” said one Reds supporter.

 

 

Another fan wrote: “Four Premier League wins in a row since 1995! Clean sheet and 3rd Ho! Ho! Ho! Thanks Agent Spence and Johnson!”

 

One supporter said: “Djed Spence is a Red, say Djed Spence is a Red!”

 

And one added: “Those last 10 felt like forever!

 

“Huge 3 points, for some reason I saw today as a big one as we don’t normally get results off Spurs.

 

“We’re class though aren’t we, good of Djed to make the last few easier cheers fella!”

 

Other fans made slightly different points about Spence, with one saying: Think that game settled the Djed and Neco debate, Neco always been far better than him.”

 

 

Another wrote: “He were either gonna drop the masterclass of a century or disaster-class, no in between.”

 

What the media said about Spence display for Tottenham at Forest

Football.london gave Spence a rating of 6 out of 10 for his performance against Forest.

 

They wrote: “A late second yellow card and subsequent red for stopping a Forest break knocks a point off another otherwise solid display, filling in on both sides.”

 

Meanwhile, the Evening Standard gave Spence a mere 5 out of 10 for his efforts in Bridgford.

 

“Was full of energy, offering overlapping and looking to go beyond players,” they began.

 

“But shown two yellows and earned Tottenham’s first Premier League red card of the season.”

 

 

 

Nottingham Forest gave their fans a Boxing Day treat, dispatching Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the Premier League.

 

Forest beat Spurs to make it four consecutive league victories for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, moving them into an unthinkable third place in the Premier League table.

 

The only goal came courtesy of Anthony Elanga, who scored for the third consecutive game after being slipped in beautifully by Morgan Gibbs-White.

 

A brilliant Matz Sels save kept Forest ahead at halftime, but it was their defense that won them all three points with an immense display in the second half.

 

Nikola Milenkovic was excellent, but one man in particular received particular plaudits from Sky Sports pundit, Patrick Rowe for his dominating performance.

 

Murillo of Nottingham Forest celebrates victory during the Premier League match between Brentford and Nottingham Forest at the Gtech Community Stad…

Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Sky Sports pundit in awe of Murillo’s performance vs Tottenham

Commenting on Sky Sports’ live text coverage of the game, Rowe made a point of mentioning Murillo specifically given his strong performance in the first half.

 

Rowe said: “A fairly even game but ultimately, Forest made their chances count. Tottenham went close through Johnson but have been left frustrated by a stoic defensive performance thus far. Special mention to Murillo, he’s worth his weight in gold for this Forest team.”

 

Murillo kept an in-form Dominic Solanke quiet for the 90 minutes, whilst also being able to defend against Spurs’ many attempted strikes from outside the box in the second period.

 

MORE FOREST STORIES

It was obvious to see why Murillo earned a “special mention” from Rowe when analysing his stats from the Tottenham win.

 

Murillo’s brilliant performance vs Tottenham in numbers

Spurs didn’t attempt to trouble the Forest squad aerially, but Murillo still won his only aerial duel in the contest, alongside all three of the tackles he attempted.

 

He also made nine clearances, including three headed clearances that came from Spurs’ late set pieces that could’ve proved costly for Forest.

 

Murillo’s abilities on the ball were also on display when he had the chance, completing two dribbles in the game. Whilst his passing numbers were down in the match at only a 67% success rate, his strength in the defensive aspects showed that he can impress the Forest manager in many ways.

 

Premier League defensive greats such as Ashley Williams have praised Murillo, with performances like today’s adding to the catalogue for Forest fans to be in awe of.

 

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Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo

 

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Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has named his Nottingham Forest team to face Brentford in today’s Premier League clash.

 

The Reds go into this afternoon’s game in the capital on the back of consecutive wins. A dramatic finale last time out saw them come from behind to beat Aston Villa 2-1.

 

Goals from Nikola Milenkovic and Anthony Elanga at the City Ground clinched the three points. And victory saw Nuno’s men go fourth in the table.

 

Defender Murillo and midfielder Ryan Yates both picked up knocks against Villa and required late fitness checks for today’s clash. The former gets the green light to start while midfielder Yates is on the bench as Nuno makes two changes to his starting line-up against the Bees.

 

How do Nottingham Forest keep Alexander Isak quiet?

Morato and Anthony Elanga replace Yates and Nicolas Dominguez in the XI. It means a formation change as Forest switch to three at the back.

 

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