'Exceptional': Pundit who has bashed Nottingham Forest previously thinks £8m-rated star is great
12/02/2024 08:00 AM
Nottingham Forest are quietly going about their business and changing the perception of the football club in the process.
Forest sit sixth in the Premier League table after 13 matches of the campaign and nobody could have predicted that at this stage.
| Position | Team | PlayedMP | WonW | DrawnD | LostL | ForGF | AgainstGA | DiffGD | PointsPts |
| 6 | Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 22 |
Nuno Espirito Santo is producing the goods as the Forest head coach and there have been a number of top performers at the City Ground this season.
Chris Wood equalled Bryan Roy’s tally of 24 Premier League goals for Forest and he’s bang in form with nine strikes already this season.
Perhaps an amusing aspect of the season is that the pundits in every corner imaginable are seemingly backtracking at a frantic pace.
Gary Lineker has changed his mind on Forest, whilst Robbie Earle has also said that he doesn’t think the team will go down anymore.
Chris Sutton is now a Forest fan – despite bashing the club constantly for years – and it’s amusing to see all the backtracking from the pundits and so-called experts.
Sky Sports presenter rates Nottingham Forest star Ola Aina
The latest pundit to jump on the Forest bandwagon is Sky Sports News anchor Dougie Critchley and he’s a big fan of one player.
On Monday, he took to X to rave about Aina and note the number of lists that he currently sits on top of from a Forest perspective.
His post on social media read:
Aina has been a quality signing and his form has really started to catch the eye of other clubs.
Milan are keen on Aina, with Forest currently valuing the player who is out of contract next summer at around £8 million.
Forest are trying to get Aina tied to a new contract and given the supreme form he’s showcasing that does feel like a sensible move.
What Critchley has previously said about Forest
The Sky Sports man is a fabulous anchor but he has changed his tune a little bit about Forest.
Earlier this year he called the club ’embarrassing’ following the defeat to Everton when Forest ended up with a £750,000 fine after some comments about Stuart Attwell.
He also had a little dig at Forest when Giovanni Reyna was linked with the club before eventually signing on loan.
He couldn’t believe that Reyna was going to sign for a club four points clear of the relegation zone and called a move to Forest, a fall from grace.
In reality, Reyna’s form at Forest highlighted that perhaps he’s not the next big wonderkid that some had predicted him to be.
Critchley isn’t the first to get things wrong about Forest and he certainly won’t be the last.
At least this season he seems to be feeling a lot more positive about the club and it’s nice to hear someone from outside the club rave about Aina following his quality form.
