Nottingham Forest receive £170m boost after Evangelos…

Nottingham Forest receive £170m boost after Evangelos Marinakis keeps crucial transfer promise

Evangelos Marinakis' aims for Nottingham Forest upon returning to the Premier League were clear: to compete, not just survive.

That's why the Greek businessman set about filling gaps in Steve Cooper's squad with established Premier League talent and players who can have time to improve and in turn increase their value. The arrivals of Morgan Gibbs-White, Taiwo Awoniyi and Neco Williams show that the Reds wanted to beef up their ranks with stars who can earn their team money back if Cooper's men fail in their survival bid this season.

While Forest have 12 players in their ranks over the age of 28, one of them is back-up goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and Harry Arter, Lyle Taylor and Jordan Smith are out of the picture completely. "We will give Steve and his team all the ammunition he needs in order to be competitive next season and will try not only to maintain our position in the Premier League, but to perform well because the sky's the limit," Marinakis said after promotion was confirmed last season.

Indeed, he has kept his word.

Forest's squad is worth a whopping £241 million, and that includes loanees Renan Lodi, Loic Bade and Dean Henderson, according to the website Transfermarkt. By contrast, the Reds' team was worth around £71m last campaign but the year-on-year increase is not all down to splurging in the transfer market.

The values of Brennan Johnson, Ryan Yates, Scott McKenna and Joe Worrall, all players contracted to the Reds, have shot up too. Playing well and establishing core players as solid Premier League performers as well as adding talent with huge upside and room for improvement is key and is a path well trodden by clubs who have been promoted before.

Take Aston Villa, promoted in 2019, who made clear their strategy earlier this year. "The club's long-term strategic plan developed since our owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris purchased the club in 2018, is to develop, recruit and secure talented young players on long-term contracts to build asset value in our playing squad and to ensure long term sustainability," they said in a press release back in March.

It's clear this is the way for promoted clubs to thrive and Forest have given themselves a good start to life back in the top flight in terms of building their squad to create value.