Head coach Steve Cooper welcomes the selection headaches which come with Nottingham Forest’s January transfer business.
The Welshman’s dilemmas will only increase as a significant injury list eases. And that will become particularly apparent when it comes to deciding on his first-choice goalkeeper.
Up until a couple of weeks ago, that title belonged to Dean Henderson. But a thigh injury to the Manchester United loanee prompted the club to target another shot-stopper before the window closed.
READ MORE: Cooper stresses key Forest message after Carabao Cup defeat
READ MORE: Jesse Lingard injury update after Forest blow at Man United
Keylor Navas arrived on loan from PSG on deadline day and is expected to step in while Henderson is sidelined. Cooper is coy about what will happen when the latter returns to fitness, however.
Asked whether Navas’ arrival implied Henderson will be absent for a significant spell, the Reds boss said: “Maybe long enough to think about that we needed to have a goalkeeping department which can compete with Premier League games. But Dean is not long-term.
“He’s working very hard. When he’s available, we’ll see where we’re at.
“That is elite squad football, where you’ve got competition for places - not just in goal, but all over the pitch. When we get some guys back from injury, we will have that.
“I want that. It’s a headache, of course. There’s always going to be a group of players for who I won’t be their favourite person in the world, but I’d rather have that.”
Deadline day signings Navas, Felipe and Jonjo Shelvey were not involved as Forest’s Carabao Cup run ended at the semi-final stage on Wednesday night. Already 3-0 down in the tie, they lost 2-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford in the second leg.
Cooper’s injury woes were added to when Jesse Lingard had to pull out of the starting XI after suffering an Achilles’ problem in the warm-up. However, he was able to hand youngster Detlef Esapa Osong his debut from off the bench, while Ollie Hammond also came on for the final few minutes. Alex Gibson-Hammond took up the spot among the substitutes vacated by Emmanuel Dennis when he replaced Lingard in the line-up, and with Jordan Smith having gone out on loan, George Shelvey was back-up keeper to Wayne Hennessey.
“I love the fact we’ve given some young kids a chance - and one of them was a debut,” added Cooper, who would not be drawn on links with free agent attacker Andre Ayew. “But we won’t be able to do that in the Premier League; we’ve got to have a strong bench as well.
“When we get some boys back, which is not the case at the moment, we will have a squad which can hopefully compete in the Premier League. In the meantime, I’ll work with the players we’ve got, try to get the best out of them and see where it takes us.”
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