How the French media reacted to Andrew Omobamidele's debut for Strasbourg after leaving Nottingham Forest
01/26/2025 03:27 AM
Shortly after Nottingham Forest were battered 5-0 by Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, Andrew Omobamidele made his first appearance for Strasbourg in Ligue 1.
It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours for the Republic of Ireland international. He was officially announced as a Strasbourg player on Thursday and was then thrust straight into Liam Rosenior’s squad for the game with Lille.
Omobamidele had not played any football in the Premier League under Nuno Espirito Santo during 2024/25. Having lost his place in the Republic of Ireland team, he clearly felt it was vital that he wasn’t sitting in the stands on a matchday any longer.
Omobamidele signed for Forest from Norwich City in the summer of 2023. He was a regular in the team for the second half of 2022/23 as Forest secured Premier League survival but saw his game time heavily restricted this season.
French media deliver verdict on Andrew Omobamidele performance
It’s fair to say that it was a night to remember for Omobamidele. Rosenior threw him straight into the squad with a place on the bench against Lille as Strasbourg claimed a big 2-1 win in Ligue 1.
Omobamidele came on at half-time, replacing Sebastian Nanasi. He appeared comfortable throughout and to say he’s not played much football, it was a debut that he will remember.
Maxi Foot wrote on his performance: “He made a first high-level outing. The Irish defender first made his mark with a superb opening behind the Lille defence for Diarra, then made quality defensive interceptions in his area to ward off the danger. A very positive start.”
Andrew Omobamidele reacts after making Strasbourg debut
Omobamidele will play alongside Andrey Santos with the former Forest loanee joining the Ligue 1 outfit after Steve Cooper refused to pick him during his loan spell at the City Ground.
He scored the equalising goal last night to cancel out Osame Sahraoui’s opener. Four minutes later Emanuel Emegha bagged the winning goal to give the hosts a huge win on home soil.
Omobamidele was given a good ovation when he entered the field. He paid tribute to the supporters after the game and posted on X: “What a night. Debut and to top it off + 3 points. Thank you for the warm welcome, fans were incredible. This is only the beginning, we keep working.”
Omobamidele should get plenty of minutes at Strasbourg. Clearly, Rosenior has dipped into his pool of English contacts to complete this deal and having a British manager in charge of him could help him settle in France.
