The challenges Nottingham Forest face in competing against established Premier League sides have been laid bare in a new report.
The CIES Football Observatory has looked into the cost of starting XIs in the top-flight and across the “big five” leagues in Europe. And their findings make for interesting reading.
After promotion was achieved in May, Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis sanctioned a significant spending spree in preparation for the step up in divisions. Upwards of £140m was splashed out, with 22 new players brought in - albeit three of the summer signings immediately went out on loan.
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Even so, Forest are still coming up against teams with settled squads and who have had the benefits of Premier League riches for a number of years. That comes across in the CIES report, with the Reds having fielded one of the “cheapest” line-ups in the top-flight this season.
When looking at the average transfer fees invested in teams’ starting XIs up until October 26, Forest are third-bottom in the standings. According to the report, on average the first-teams fielded by boss Steve Cooper cost 97m euros (roughly £83 million).
Manchester City have fielded the most expensive side, from a transfer cost perspective. On average, their XI for Premier League games included players in who the club invested up to 605m euros (£520m) in transfer fees.
The most expensive starting line-up throughout the Premier League was fielded by City in their 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion, at a cost of 726m euros (£624m). City’s “cheapest” one came against Forest, with their XI for the 6-0 thumping put at 538m euros (£462m).
Forest’s most expensive XI is listed as 120m euros (£103m) which was fielded in the 3-2 defeat to Fulham. Their cheapest XI was on the opening day of the campaign, against Newcastle United, at 59m euros (£50m).
The report says the average transfer fees invested for the starting XIs of each of the Premier League teams are: Manchester City - 605m euros (£520m); Manchester United - 480m euros (£412m); Liverpool - 409m euros (£351m); Chelsea - 393m euros (£337m); Arsenal - 382m euros (£328m); Newcastle United - 257m euros (£221m); Tottenham Hotspur - 230m euros (£197m); Aston Villa - 212m euros (£182m); Wolverhampton Wanderers - 202m euros (£173m); West Ham United - 199m euros (£171m); Leeds United - 189m euros (£162m); Leicester City - 180m euros (£154m); Everton - 172m euros (£147m); Southampton - 146m euros (£125m); Crystal Palace - 133m euros (£114m); Bournemouth - 125m euros (£107m); Fulham - 105m euros (£90m); Nottingham Forest - 97m euros (£83m); Brighton and Hove Albion - 81m euros (£69m); Brentford - 71m euros (£61m).
The figures are said to “include eventual add-ons irrespective of their effective payment”. Elsewhere, the average transfer fees invested for the XI of Paris St-Germain are listed as 510m euros (£438m). For Real Madrid, the figure is 370m euros (£318m), and for Barcelona the figure is 334m euros (£287m).
The Reds splashed out a club record initial £25m for Morgan Gibbs-White during the transfer window. They had already broken their record earlier in the summer with the £17.5m it cost to sign Taiwo Awoniyi. Other notable fees included £17m for Neco Williams and a reported £20m paid out for Emmanuel Dennis.
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