January 2026 transfer window

Isn't he only any good against us, so it's a bit too late to sign him?

Apparently Palace tried to convert it to a loan at the last minute. More professional behaviour by Parish.

‘Lads, everyone’s pissing themselves as we’ve spent over £100m on Johnson, Strand-Larsen and McNeil’.

‘Pull the plug on McNeil’.

So we lost Zinchenko, Luiz and Kalimuendo. Added Ortega, Netz and Lucca. John out for the season, Wood, who can say?

League squad is straightforward. Europa, we lose Kalimuendo and Luiz and either Wood or Boly and add Hutchinson, Netz and Lucca (assuming that we can, Awoniyi if not). Europa goalkeeper is dependent on injury shenanigans but Gunn and Sels seems fine.

So after all that we may have slightly strengthened.

We have cover for Neco and Ortega can’t be worse than John. I know Kalimeundo became one of those players who got better in fans eyes the less he played but let’s be honest, he hadn’t (for whatever reason) delivered for us. God knows what Lucca will be like though but at least he offers something different.

The CM is weaker without a replacement for Luiz

His girlfriend has apparently gone on the socialz to say it was all agreed and then Palace just stopped returning phone calls at the eleventh hour.

That does seem fairly shitty, even with Forest's duty of care to players not having always been the best. They'd have been ready to uproot their lives and move a couple of hundreds miles away for a start.

Dwight McNeil’s girlfriend:

“Tonight, and the last 48 hours, have broken
my heart to see how the football world you
love so much can be so cruel to you.
To have something promised to you, to have
been dragged along on an emotional
rollercoaster, and to be toyed with until the
final minute. To have 4 and a half years of
your life promised to you, traveling,
medicals, agreements made... promises
made. To have prepared to move your
entire life, our life’s 100s of miles away
in the space of a few hours.
For it to be torn away from you at the last
second, with absolutely no explanation.
Going from everything - to radio silence, no
phone call, no communication and be left,
broken hearted with nothing but confusion,
has hurt more than I can say.
I sit with you, knowing in my heart and deep
down into my soul that you will bounce back
from this. I am your biggest supporter. And
I know you will overcome this with a fire in
your belly and a motivation that no one can
stop. I have already seen it tonight, even
whilst you’re facing the lowest point of your
career.
We live in a world where everyone is aware
how big of a problem mental health is. So in
football, why do we find it acceptable
because these young men are on a lot of
money, that it’s okay to mess and toy with
their mental health and that’s it just ‘part of
the job’?
No matter of money, we all deserve to be
treated with respect, kindness and fairly.
So I really question the industry tonight. I only
hope there’s more done in the future to
protect people from situations like what I’ve
witnessed tonight. Football is brutal and yes,
it’s the nature of the beast, but messing with
human beings feelings and emotions shouldn’t
be acceptable.
People only see one side on the media, you
don’t see the tears, the emotion and the
distress I’ve seen tonight.”

This is not a good look for the Eagles. 🤯

Assume they didn't have the money after the Mateta transfer fell through. Shitty for him and his family but that's the way it goes.

Cuiabana loaned to Vasco de Gama.

I know a lot of it comes to communication but, with respect to the Dwight McNeill situation, we've relocated this guy back and forth from Brazil numerous times without ever looking like we wanted to play him in a game of football.

Relocated? Not sure I'd go that far. He's come over and stayed in a nice hotel for a few weeks while we check on his progress would be how I would read it. Don't imagine he's shipping his belongings over and finding schools for his kids (I've no idea if he has kids).

And he's probably delighted to be heading back to Brazil in the middle of our winter

Yes, it’s bound to be because they had no money following the Mateta business but not communicating that to the player and seemingly just ignoring calls is poor behaviour at any level.

And Palace were so fucked off with our behaviour!

Yes, but there's a wider point here about the way that Forest have seemingly failed in their duty of care to young players in the past. Zach Clough, signed aged 21, was an obvious example - his career never recovered from his four-year stint here.

More recently, we've seen Omari Hutchinson (also 21 at the time) join as the club's record signing, only to become a pawn in a public spat between the then first-team coach and the sporting director - saw him left out of a European squad which had likely been sold to him during negotiations. He'd also have been aware that his effective line manager didn't want him signed because he thought a different player was a better option.

Arnaud Kalimuendo (23) is another - signed for big money, brought over from abroad, given very few opportunities to show what he can do, and then bombed out on loan to a different country at the earliest opportunity.

The Scarpa situation wasn't great and the general approach to shipping Brazilians around to see what sticks as a whole isn't brilliant.

I think you are just describing football transfers.

Having a deal all agreed and then not answering the phone at the last minute is slightly different.

I think some pretty basic lessons on not counting chickens until they have hatched are needed here. Nothing is confirmed until it's signed, especially not billion dollar contracts, which no one has a right to no matter how close you may think you are.

Try telling that to CR7

Of all the tragedies in the world, an average Premier League footballer not moving from one multimillion pound contract to another last night does not seem high up on the list to me.