'I would do it again': £3.4m player who left Nottingham Forest in 2023 suggests he couldn't wait to leave
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Nottingham Forest allowed a waft of players to leave in the summer transfer window with over 20 heading to pastures new.
The Reds focused heavily on streamlining the squad and only 11 new players were added – with two of those joining Olympiacos on loan for the season.
Forest have made a strong start to the Premier League during 2024/25, picking up nine points from six games so far.
Nuno Espirito Santo is still striving to find some sort of consistency – particularly at home – and there is hope that the team can kick on this season.
The vast majority of the players that Forest decided to offload have hardly weakened the squad at all.
In some cases, players were keen to leave and thankfully the Reds look to have done some extremely good business in terms of outgoings this summer.
Remo Freuler suggests he wanted to leave Forest
The Premier League and Freuler went together a little bit like a foot slipping into the wrong-sized shoe.
Clearly, Freuler’s career and his achievements show that he’s a very useful midfielder but playing in the Forest system under Steve Cooper wasn’t for him.
He’s often played in sides that have a large amount of possession and although he was okay at Forest, he was arguably the right player at the wrong time.
Freuler helped Bologna qualify for the Champions League last season and he’s suggested that he was very keen to leave Forest in the summer of 2023.
He told Gazzetta dello Sport: “A fantastic group has been created. Not only on the pitch but also off it, at dinner, for an aperitif meeting up with young and old.
“I have learned this special cohesion here and I am happy to have returned to Italy and to have chosen Bologna. And, I would do it again. Of course, I would do it again.”
What transfer fee Forest got for Freuler
The Reds did get a good deal for Freuler. He joined Bologna on loan with Nicolas Dominguez joining Forest for £8 million in return.
Freuler had a clause in his contract that would see him make a permanent switch to Bologna for £3.4 million after a certain number of games.
The 32-year-old has enjoyed a sound career in fairness, but Forest simply wasn’t the right club for him given the style the team were forced to adopt under Cooper’s management.
Interestingly, Darren Fletcher claimed last season that Forest could have done with Freuler under Nuno.
A player with 10 goals in 74 appearances for Switzerland can’t be considered a bad player and he will feel at home again in Serie A.
Too many games bypassed him in England but it’s hard to imagine too many Forest fans begrudging him doing well at Bologna given his professionalism during his time on Trentside.
