Nottingham Forest

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Liam Delap can revive his career at Nottingham Forest after his Chelsea nightmare, according to boss Oliver Glasner.

The Austrian believes the City Ground is the perfect place for the striker after his record £50m move.

Delap, 23, had been frozen out by new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso and was not training with the group, while his number nine shirt was taken by Joao Pedro.

He scored just once in the Premier League after a £30m move from Ipswich last summer but has become the most expensive signing in Forest's history.

Glasner said: "He had a difficult season at Chelsea and in the last weeks he wasn't allowed to train with the team any more.

"It's clear you have to look for a club where you have better chances to get minutes and reignite your career. That's why I think we're the right club.

"We were in talks for many days and we tried to convince him - and we could convince Liam that Nottingham Forest is the right club, at the right moment, for where he is in his career.

"Before he picked Chelsea, everyone in the Premier League wanted Liam. We heard it was possible and we were looking for a striker with physicality and especially with pace.

"When Taiwo [Awoniyi] left, the one who made the runs in behind was missing. We were looking for this profile. Liam is the perfect fit and we are the perfect club for him.

"He is hungry and wants to improve. The entire package looked great."

Tasnim Chowdhury
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Midfielders Morgan Gibbs-White and Ryan Yates will be available, but Ibrahim Sangare will miss the match on Saturday because of a calf injury picked up during training on Wednesday.

• Glasner said new signing Liam Delap is the "perfect player" for his side and Forest will "reignite" his career. He added: "He is hungry, he wants to improve, he wants to make a step forward - and this is what we are looking for when we sign players. So the entire package looked great."

• Glasner expects at least one more signing. He said the club could "potentially" sign a wing-back, but when asked about potentially signing Dainel Munoz from Crystal Palace, he said: "No comments on any names. When the ink is dry, you will be informed."

• On improving the mentality of players, Glasner said: "When you had such a difficult, tricky, challenging season then something happens in your head. This is the biggest part to change, to improve, and this is probably the part that takes longest. It's a lot of psychology and confidence - there is no button you can press."

• On making changes, he added: "If we want things to change, we have to change them. No-one will do it for us. And this is sometimes getting out of the comfort zone and accepting reality. Roll your sleeves up, head down and let's go. This is the mentality we want to create. Roll your sleeves up, work hard every single day and then we will get better results."

• He said the formation will be decided after the transfer window, based on the players he has. Glasner added: "I always want to have our best players on the pitch, so I'm not strictly saying we have to play in a 3-4-3. If I believe we need more attacking players on the pitch, then we will change the system immediately - then some players will have different roles."

• On Liverpool: "Liverpool had some changes with the new manager, Andoni Iraola, who has done an excellent job with Bournemouth. We know his style of pla and it is very intense. They have a very attacking midfield with Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz, and very attacking full-backs with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez."

Hit play above to hear more from Glasner, speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray, or listen on BBC Sounds here

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

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Former Nottingham Forest defender Brian Laws believes new record signing Liam Delap is like a "young Chris Wood" and says he likes a lot of aspects of his game.

The 23-year-old signed from Chelsea for £50m on Thursday and he will be hoping to find his form after struggling at Stamford Bridge last season.

Speaking on BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast, Laws said: "We've all been banging the drum about signing a striker as a priority. We can't just rely on Chris Wood and Igor Jesus.

"It was important to bring in someone who's got experience within the Premier League. He's a young player. I do like him in lots of ways. He's almost like a young Chris Wood where he will cause havoc and won't give centre-halves a rest. He will chase things down that he maybe shouldn't get, but the most important thing is I want to see him in the box. I want to see him attack the ball."

Delap will be hoping to rediscover the form that caught Chelsea's eye. While at Ipswich Town, in his first regular season of top-flight football, the former Manchester City academy graduate notched 12 league goals and BBC Radio Suffolk's Brenner Woolley said that form made him think he would "undoubtedly" be a future England striker.

"He was terrific during his solitary season in Suffolk, and while the team collectively clearly found themselves out of their depth, he never did," Woolley told the pod.

"He looked like a Premier League player from the opening day. I remember the opening day against Liverpool and he bullied Jarell Quansah out of the game to the extent Arne Slot took him off at half-time.

"He was quick, he was powerful, persistent. He scored some really, really good goals. He was sometimes overly physical and picked up one or two daft yellow cards. He could hold the ball up, his link-up play was decent and he looked a real prospect.

"At that stage, he undoubtedly looked an England number nine for the future."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Explore more Forest audio here

Nottingham Forest have made an offer worth up to £22m for Crystal Palace and Colombia wing-back Daniel Munoz, 30. (Athletic - subscription required), external

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid are considering signing forward Igor Jesus from Forest. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

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A fresh episode of BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast has dropped on BBC Sounds.

David Jackson and Colin Fray discuss Liam Delap's £50m move to the City Ground - plus hear an interview with Reds goalkeeper Matz Sels

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Explore all Nottingham Forest content on BBC Sounds

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

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In a summer of staggering transfer fees, Liam Delap's move to Nottingham Forest stands out.

An outlay of £50m for a striker who scored one league goal last season - at a £20m profit to Chelsea - has caught the eye.

But Delap is only 23 years old and has scored goals in the Premier League before.

The overriding positive for Forest fans digesting Delap's inflated fee - which can be partly explained by Ipswich Town reportedly receiving 20% of any profit made on their £30m sale to Chelsea last summer - is that Oliver Glasner's man-management and tactical set-up are both likely to suit the new arrival.

Glasner tends to prefer playing without the ball - his Crystal Palace team averaged 46% possession last season - while the Austrian also likes to attack directly at pace, suiting Delap's natural assets.

Glasner also has recent form for turning around a centre-forward's career after transforming Jean-Philippe Mateta at Selhurst Park.

Mateta improved his shot conversion rate and halved the number of minutes it took to score goals under Glasner, operating in the same type of targetman role that Delap is set to fulfil at Forest.

Delap also remains a valuable commodity in the sense that he is one of only 10 English forwards aged 23 or under regularly playing in Europe's top five leagues.

On Match of the Day in November 2024, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said: "I would probably go as far as to say he is the obvious long-term successor to Harry Kane. He is the best young English striker out there.

"I just don't see a weakness for him. He has that lovely balance between physical and technical [ability] - and rarely do you get both. He is a super talent."

Delap's international ambitions may have to wait for the time being but Glasner improved Mateta to the point of him playing for France at the 2026 World Cup.

Significant interest will surround how far he can take Delap.

Read the full article here

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Nottingham Forest record signing Liam Delap believes Oliver Glasner can be the coach to "really help me develop and get to that next step".

Delap has completed a £50m transfer from Chelsea and signed a five-year deal at the City Ground after just one season at Stamford Bridge.

The 23-year-old striker struggled in west London, scoring just one league goal, but was convinced of the Forest project by new head coach Glasner, who himself arrived earlier this summer.

"I'm buzzing," Delap said on the move.

"I really can't wait to get started, it's a massive club with a big history so I can't wait.

"I spoke with the head coach and I really like his way. I think he can be the one to really help me develop and get to that next step. There're some top players here as well and I'm looking forward to playing alongside them."

Delap scored 12 goals for Ipswich Town in his first Premier League campaign in 2024-25 in a side that only won four games all season and were relegated in 19th place.

"It was probably the time when I've enjoyed playing football the most and I think that was when I played my best football as well," he added.

"Hopefully I can recreate that here.

"I'm aggressive and I play with a lot of speed and aggression. Hopefully I can bring some goals here as well.

"With the new head coach I think we can build something really strong. The main aim is to challenge and be a top club in the Premier League."

Fiorentina have turned down Nottingham Forest's initial bid of £6m for Brazilian right-back Dodo, 27. (Sky Sport Italy - in Italian, external)

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

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Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Nottingham Forest are still working on deals after only bringing in three new faces so far this summer.

A striker and a full-back would be ideal with the club in talks for Chelsea's Liam Delap, while Fiorentina right-back Dodo is of interest.

Boss Oliver Glasner has played down the need for midfield reinforcements, despite Elliot Anderson's departure to Manchester City.

What business do you think still needs to get done before 23:00 BST on 1 September?

Get in touch with your views

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest winger Dilane Bakwa has joined Lille on loan for the season.

The forward, who turned 24 on Wednesday, cost £30m when he arrived from Ligue 1 club Strasbourg last summer.

But he only made six Premier League starts as Forest went through four managers and finished 16th in the table last season. In total, he made 24 appearances and contributed two assists but did not score a goal.

Lille finished third in Ligue 1 last season, securing Champions League football for 2026-27.

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We asked for your thoughts after Tuesday's Carabao Cup second-round game between Nottingham Forest and Leeds United.

Here are some of your comments:

Forest fans

Ian: A much worse performance than Saturday's, I'm not sure Liam Delap will solve the problem. Not pretty to watch, no identity, lack of ideas, feels like a rebuild is needed rather than tweaking.

Graham: Nothing positive to come from last night, that was plainly obvious. Wood, Ousmane Diomande, Dan Ndoye, Xaver Schlager and James McAtee are not good enough. Oliver Glasner's tactics don't suit the players. We were too narrow and no bite up front.

David: The smiles have gone and the tactics of passing back, passing back and passing back to Matz Sels, before he boots it to the centre circle where our lone striker is outnumbered and no one else is there to fight for the second ball is simply not good enough.

Andrew: The worst Forest performance in over a year. Clueless players with little idea of what the playing plan should be.

Leeds fans

Bryan: The sleeping giant is starting to wake up. Never get enough credit from the pundits or press. This is great, they are creeping under the radar and will surprise all the experts this season. Will be classed as one of the strongest in defence in the Premier League and once they sign another striker, watch out top six, one of you will be losing your place.

Peter: This Leeds side could be really good with just a couple of quality additions in the forward areas as they are so wasteful. Dan James created so much and the players around him didn't anticipate his crosses.

Ali: Solid performances against Forest, but let's not get carried away. Still light in a number of areas (striker, left-back, winger, goalkeeper and attacking midfield) and these need reinforcing to be productive over a long season.

Alan: Excellent defensive display, the attack needs to sharpen up, James Justin's goal is a great advert to scrap VAR, in the league it would have been disallowed. Yet again, there is a great buzz around the club, but it's early days. Let's not get carried away.

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Dave: Why is Liam Delap worth £20m more now than one year ago after a dreadful season, is this just down to inflation of fees?

It's a fair point that there may be some inflationary impact on this. However, it will be a small one.

The main reason is that Chelsea's £30m deal to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich last summer was widely regarded as being below market value.

That was due to the relegation release clause in his contract being active last summer, and Delap was arguably a £45m to £50m player at the time.

Some might argue Chelsea received a good fee, given Delap scored only one Premier League goal last season. Again, that is subjective and depends on whether you believe he can rediscover his best form at Nottingham Forest this season.

Nottingham Forest are in talks with Corinthians over a move for 20-year-old Brazil midfielder Andre. (Daily Mail - subscription only), external

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Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner, speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham: "Tough, tough night. Tough defeat. Of course, a start where we that we wished differently but on the other side and this is what we have to accept. It's the reality where we are right now. If you lose both games against Leeds in three days, we have to accept they were better.

"They are together now two or three years and are adding one or two or three players and this is what we could see. It's much more stability in the team, whereas we were struggling in a few moments today. We made too many mistakes. It was really playing with the pressure, we knew but we took many wrong decisions and gave them the chances."

Listen to the full interview here or on BBC Sounds

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Former Nottingham Forest defender Brian Laws on BBC Radio 5 Live said: "Nottingham Forest have got a long way to go to get things right here. There's a lot of things not right at the moment, they lack ideas, cohesion and the ability to pass to one another consistently.

"There's a lot of things wrong tonight that Oliver Glasner will not be happy about because that is not good enough. Leeds have come here on two occasions and been comfortable, they haven't had to work hard at it. Forest have to take accountability for that."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Forest's performance

What did you make of Leeds' display?

Come back on Wednesday for a selection of your replies.

There are six Premier League teams in action on Tuesday in the second round of the EFL Cup, and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Ipswich v Leicester

• Plymouth v Coventry

• Stoke City v Hull City

• Birmingham v Brentford (20:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Nottingham Forest v Leeds (20:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Kick-off 19:45 BST unless stated.

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Premier League history was made before a ball was even kicked this season as a record nine clubs started the campaign with new managers.

Former Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner got his first taste of action as Nottingham Forest head coach after succeeding sacked Vitor Pereira.

So how did he fare on an eventful first weekend of the 2026-27 campaign?

A poor start for the Austrian, who brought FA Cup and Europa League success to Crystal Palace, losing 1-0 to a late Leeds United goal at the City Ground.

Glasner claimed he cannot simply lay hands on players and they perform like "Real Madrid in the 70s", but this still was an unsatisfactory opening as he tries to bring stability and success to Nottingham Forest - and their demanding owner Evangelos Marinakis - after four managers were in charge last season.

He had no new signings in his starting line-up, with eight players from Nuno Espirito Santo's team in their opening-day win over Brentford last season featuring, although it looks like striker Liam Delap might arrive from Chelsea.

Every Forest manager needs wins - and very quickly - so to make a losing introduction was a real blow for Glasner.

Read Phil's thoughts on how the rest of the new faces fared here

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We asked for your views on whether Nottingham Forest need another striker in their ranks, with the Reds working on a deal for Chelsea's Liam Delap.

Here are some of your comments:

Scott: Yes, we need a striker. Chris Wood will struggle to play 20 games this season with his knee. Igor Jesus still needs to prove his worth, and so does Arnaud Kalimuendo. But Delap isn't worth £50m. It would have to be less with add-ons until he proves his worth.

Mark: We absolutely need another striker as none of the ones we have are prolific or deadly in front of goal. Unfortunately, Delap also isn't. However, the real issue is that we don't get the ball into the box frequently enough and chances are always at a premium. Wish I had a solution to offer.

Nick: Don't care what number Delap uses, we just need someone who can score. If he can recapture his Ipswich form, he could be a good option. Let's be honest, if he comes and doesn't perform, he's not going to be around for long.

Kris: Honestly, this looks like a panic buy. I'm not impressed with the transfer business again - too slow, too ponderous and overseen by someone else who appears out of his depth. What would Delap add? Goals? Probably not given his record. Disappointing really.

Nicholas: This would be a great move for both parties. His style of play would work well in Forest's system and he would have an opportunity to play more. Wood is getting on, Jesus isn't really a striker and Kalimuendo is still an unknown quantity at this level.

Rob: Yes, Forest need a striker - and others. James McAtee will not replace Elliot Anderson. Wing-back cover is needed with the new formation. We have a glut of wide forwards who probably wouldn't make great cover for the wing-backs.

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

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Nottingham Forest are determined to keep full-back Neco Williams this summer amid late interest from Tottenham.

Spurs' interest in the 25-year-old is at an exploratory stage, but sources close to Forest insist the City Ground club will not consider selling the Wales international this summer.

Williams proved a crucial player last season and is expected to play a key role for new manager Oliver Glasner this time around. Forest remain in talks with the former Liverpool defender over a new contract and it is their intention to extend his current deal - which expires in summer 2029 - to reflect his importance to the squad.

Reds boss Glasner has an interest in Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall, which poses a potential discussion point between the two clubs, but Spurs manager Roberto de Zerbi has insisted the 20-year-old Sweden international will stay in north London.

Tottenham have sold defender Djed Spence to Inter Milan and are open to signing a replacement - and it is understood De Zerbi would prefer one with Premier League experience.

Like Spence, Williams - who has made over 150 Premier League appearances - can play on both flanks, but is predominantly a left-back.

Spurs have options on the left in Destiny Udogie, Any Robertson and Ben Davies. Udogie is understood to have interest from Italy, while Robertson and Davies are in the latter stages of their careers.

At right-back, Pedro Porro is first choice but there is no direct competition - though Archie Gray can fill in.

As a result, there is a will at Spurs to sign a younger, versatile full-back before the window closes at 23:00 BST on 1 September.