How many players have Nottingham Forest signed? List of every deal & transfer business explained

After 23 years spent toiling in the Football League, Nottingham Forest’s victory in the 2022 Championship play-off final brought their long wait for a Premier League return to a close. The Reds enjoyed a remarkable reversal in fortune under the guidance of Steve Cooper, as they rose from the bottom of the second tier to the top-flight in a matter of months, but rubbing shoulders with the elite was always going to pose a different kind of challenge.

To say that an arrivals lounge at the City Ground has been busy this summer would be an understatement but, with GOAL bringing you a full rundown of the business carried out, there was no other way to approach recruitment and any critics of the business done on Trentside continue to miss the point.

How many players have Nottingham Forest signed?

With it widely reported that promotion to the Premier League could be worth up to £170 million ($199m) for those fortunate enough to take that step, cash was always going to be splashed by Forest as they endeavour to retain a seat back at the top table.

Oddly enough, given what has followed, a slow start was made to the latest transfer window, with only Nigeria international striker Taiwo Awoniyi welcomed through the doors by the end of June.

There was to be no stopping the Reds from there, with floodgates burst open, and Cooper now boasts the strength in depth across just about every position that should stand his squad in good stead heading forward.

A flurry of activity on deadline day brought the club’s total tally of new arrivals to 21, and there could have been even more had a few late deals not slipped the net.

Every signing made by Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2022:

Why have Nottingham Forest signed so many players?

In the eyes of some, Forest’s dealings during the summer of 2022 have been overly elaborate and slightly foolhardy.

Questions have been asked on a regular basis of how the club can afford to invest so heavily, despite the riches on offer in the Premier League being well documented, and whether Cooper can gel so many fresh faces together under one roof.

It remains to be seen whether a highly-rated coach can deliver on that remit, but he had no choice but to roll the dice and reinforce his ranks on an epic scale from back to front.

Of the matchday squad that secured promotion against Huddersfield back in May, 10 of those players are no longer at the City Ground for various reasons – with loanees returning to their respective parent clubs as others were either released or allowed to head out on loan agreements of their own.

Forest have also parted with seven senior players on a permanent basis that were not involved at Wembley, while sending many more – including Richie Laryea, Braian Ojeda, Tyrese Fornah, Fin Back, Alex Mighten and Jonathan Panzo – out to pick up important game time elsewhere.

Given the huge turnover in players that accompanied a push out of the Championship, what option did Forest have but to plug those gaps by bringing in a host of new players?

Suggestions that the Reds have been stockpiling or making signings for the sake of it fall wide of the mark as they have merely sought to ensure that they are as competitive as possible in the most demanding of divisions.

There has been no scattergun approach – with proven international performers such as Lingard, Freuler and Mangala added to the pot alongside the potential of Gibbs-White, Williams and O’Brien – with the efforts of Cooper, a recruitment team headed up by CEO Dane Murphy and supportive owner Evangelos Marinakis deserving plenty of praise.