Nottingham Forest exits have quietly become the defining strand of the Reds’ summer, and Oliver Glasner has now confirmed the club are actively working to move players on before the window shuts at 11pm on Tuesday 1 September. Speaking before Saturday’s trip to Liverpool, the Forest head coach said the squad remains “very big” and that reducing it is as much about fairness to the players as it is about balancing his options.
What Glasner said about Nottingham Forest exits
Asked directly about potential departures in his pre-match press conference, Glasner was unusually candid, as reported by the Nottingham Post.
“It’s always trying to find the best solutions for the players. This is what the players deserve,” he said. “I mentioned when I arrived that the squad is very big. We have had a few loans (out) now and Taiwo (Awoniyi) left for Coventry.”
“It’s also just fair, because we don’t play European football and we don’t have a massive amount of games this season. Players want to play, and players should play.”
Then came the line that spells out the problem in numbers. “Against Liverpool, I have to leave three or four players at home. They train every day and give their best, and if it is not these four it will be another four (left out). This is never the best situation for a player. I can’t ask anyone if we can go with 22 players in the squad against Liverpool, it’s just not allowed. That’s why we are trying to reduce the squad; mainly for the players.”
Why the Reds’ squad is too big for this season
Glasner’s reasoning is straightforward, and it is worth spelling out for anyone wondering why a club that has just spent a record fee is simultaneously trying to shift bodies. Forest are not in Europe this season. That removes the midweek fixture load which justifies carrying a 30-man group, and it means a matchday squad of 20 is the only realistic outlet for a roster built for two competitions.
The Austrian has been consistent on this since arriving from Crystal Palace in July. He prefers to work with a tighter group he can coach intensively rather than a sprawling one where a third of the players never get near the pitch. After back-to-back defeats to Leeds United – 0-1 in the Premier League on the opening weekend, then 0-2 in the EFL Cup three days later – the temptation might be to keep every option available. Glasner is arguing the opposite: a smaller, sharper squad is part of the fix, not a risk to it.
There is a squad-registration angle too. Premier League clubs must name a 25-man list, with a maximum of 17 players who do not qualify as home-grown, and any club that has recruited as heavily as Forest have over recent windows has to do that sum carefully. Trimming the group is not only about keeping footballers happy; it is about making the paperwork add up before Tuesday night. Glasner has not said as much publicly, but it sits behind every conversation of this kind at this stage of a window.
Omari Hutchinson and Morato head the departure queue
Two names stand out among the players with admirers elsewhere. Omari Hutchinson, the forward signed from Ipswich Town, is understood to be on AC Milan’s radar. Morato, the Brazilian centre-back, has been linked with Roma.
Neither situation has produced a confirmed bid, and both should be treated as interest rather than an imminent deal. But the logic is easy to follow. Hutchinson has found minutes hard to come by in a forward line that now contains Chris Wood, Igor Jesus, Arnaud Kalimuendo, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Dan Ndoye and, from this week, Liam Delap. Morato sits behind Nikola Milenković, Murillo and new arrival Ousmane Diomande in the centre-back pecking order, with Jair Cunha also on the books.
Young defender Tyler Bindon, meanwhile, looks set to join Charlton Athletic on loan. We covered that developing situation in our piece on Tyler Bindon’s likely exit and the Morato-to-Roma link.
The Nottingham Forest exits already completed
Plenty has already gone through. Awoniyi was sold to Coventry City earlier this month. David Carmo joined Olympiacos, as did Jota Silva – and the Portuguese winger’s loan to the fellow Evangelos Marinakis-owned club has, according to the Nottingham Post, already been converted into a permanent move, though neither club has confirmed it. Omar Richards joined Aris.
On Wednesday, two more went out on loan: winger Dilane Bakwa to Lille and wing-back Eric da Silva Moreira to Excelsior. Willy Boly, Angus Gunn and Stefan Ortega were released earlier in the summer.
That is a substantial amount of churn, and it still is not enough to get Glasner to the number he wants. Which tells you how bloated the group had become.
Incomings are not finished either
The counter-intuitive part of all this is that Forest are still buying. Delap became the fourth signing of the window when he arrived from Chelsea for an initial £45million, a fee that can rise to £50m with add-ons, following Xaver Schlager, Diomande and back-up goalkeeper Steven Benda through the door.
A right-back remains top of the list. Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz is the target, and the Reds have tabled a bid worth £22m – an initial £20m plus £2m in potential add-ons – with Palace weighing up whether to accept, per The Athletic. Munoz is 30 and has two years left on his contract, but he knows Glasner’s system inside out from their time together in south London. A midfielder could follow, with talks reported for Corinthians’ Andre. Our full breakdown of that state of play is here: Palace weigh up the £22m Munoz bid as Glasner says deals are ‘close’.
“As I mentioned, I think we will add two players. One we have added. That means I guess we will have at least one more signing,” Glasner said. “Deals are quite close to being done. But now, from today on, my focus is on the Liverpool match.”
What it all means before Anfield
For today, the practical consequence is a selection headache of a particular kind – not who to pick, but who to tell to stay at home. Morgan Gibbs-White and captain Ryan Yates are both available after their respective knocks, while Ibrahim Sangaré misses out with a calf injury picked up in training on Wednesday. Kick-off at Anfield is 12.30pm.
Beyond that, the picture between now and Tuesday night is clear enough. Forest want a right-back and possibly a midfielder in, and they want a handful of squad players out, ideally to clubs where those players will actually feature. Glasner has framed the whole exercise as a duty of care rather than a cost-cutting drive, and on the evidence of his quotes he means it.
The risk, of course, is timing. Selling in the final 72 hours of a window is a seller’s nightmare and a buyer’s opportunity, and the Tricky Trees have limited leverage over players who are not in the XI. Expect movement, expect some of it late, and expect at least one name nobody had on their list.
Nottingham Forest exits: the state of play
- Deadline: 11pm on Tuesday 1 September
- Wanted elsewhere: Omari Hutchinson (AC Milan interest), Morato (Roma link)
- Loan close to done: Tyler Bindon to Charlton Athletic
- Already gone: Taiwo Awoniyi (Coventry City), David Carmo and Jota Silva (Olympiacos), Omar Richards (Aris), Dilane Bakwa (Lille, loan), Eric da Silva Moreira (Excelsior, loan)
- Still wanted in: a right-back – Daniel Munoz the target – and possibly a midfielder
