“You never know” – Nottingham Forest’s coach Espirito Santo unsure he can keep Nigerian duo at the club

Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi have been key Nottingham Forest players throughout the season, despite picking up lengthy injuries.

Nottingham Forest head coach, Nuno Espirito Santo, is unsure of keeping the club’s big stars at the City Ground for another season, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Portuguese tactician took over the coaching reins at the club in December after Steve Cooper was fired due to a succession of unimpressive results.

Despite Forest suffering a four-point deduction due to a breach of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, they ended the season six points above the relegation spots.

After heaving a heavy sigh of relief, the former Wolves boss reveals the situation surrounding the club might make it hard to keep their biggest players at the club.

While surviving a relegation scare for two successive seasons might put some of these players off to renew with the club, The Reds also need to make sales to avoid further breach of FFP rules.

“You never know in football. You have to realise that the way we finished this season, some players in our squad are going to attract interest, for sure. They are talented, they are young and they are in a good moment of their careers. You cannot control these things. We have to see what happens. We have to make decisions, but they are not tough they are based on what we believe. I don’t consider them tough decisions, they are part of the job,” the 50-year-old Gaffer told BBC UK.

Ola Aina’s contract with Forest expires this summer, but he has the option to extend for another year, while Taiwo Awoniyi has hinted that his future might be away from the club as earlier reported by Soccernet.ng.

Both players will be hoping they’re fully fit for Nigeria’s World Cup qualifying clash against South Africa and Benin Republic next month.

 

 

 

 

 

This post was last modified on May 20, 2024 7:16 pm

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria. With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience. He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.

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