£9.3m Nottingham Forest player just forced Marinakis into January U-turn with his Luton display - opinion
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Nottingham Forest gave a chance to a number of squad players in their FA Cup victory over Luton Town, with the squad taking their opportunity to impress.
Forest’s 2-0 win over Luton qualifies them for the fourth round of the FA Cup, further adding to the momentum of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Goals on either side of the halftime break, including a rare goal for Forest Academy man Ryan Yates, secured a routine cup win at the City Ground.
Espirito Santo would’ve been particularly delighted with how his backup players navigated the tie, with Carlos Miguel in goal impressing with six saves to secure his side a fifth consecutive clean sheet.
Perhaps most notably though were the performances further up the pitch, with one man’s display potentially altering Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis’ January plans.
Ramon Sosa stars against Luton Town
Starting ahead of Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ramon Sosa had a chance to prove to Espirito Santo that he is worth considering for more Premier League starts.
Right away he looked to be causing the Championship side problems with his close dribbling abilities, but he made the game’s first direct impact by producing a perfect delivery for Yates to score the game’s opener.
He then got his deserved goal after fellow winger, Jota Silva, broke the Luton defensive line to find the Paraguayan for an easy finish.
Sosa joined Forest from Talleres in the summer for £9.3m and has only started a single Premier League game, but his performance against Luton will do no harm in seeing him earn a more prominent role in the Forest squad.
The performance won’t only impact Sosa, though, as seeing the wide-man’s impressive display may make Marinakis rethink his interest in bringing another winger to the City Ground.
Ramon Sosa may have changed Nottingham Forest’s January plan
Marinakis believed Forest needed three signings in January with a winger listed as one of the positions, but performances like this from Sosa will surely alter the necessity of that plan.
Sosa’s goal and assist were also complemented by an assist by Silva on the right flank, highlighting the impact the two can have on matches when required.
Clearly, Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga are the Forest manager’s preferred duo, but Marinakis’ money could be spent much more impactfully elsewhere than adding another backup to Forest’s wide roles.
Especially when considering how much Taiwo Awoniyi struggled in the cup tie, Forest should prioritise other positions and trust Sosa and Silva as reliable support players.
