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Goalkeepers
Matz Sels
A decent pre-season from Forest’s clear Number 1. No mistakes that come to mind, with some decent saves too. Nervousness around Forest’s goalkeeper situation comes only from Sels’ niggling injuries last season, rather than the Belgian’s ability.
John Victor
Looks like he’s going to be given a surprise chance to be Forest’s back up this season - and may even find himself in the starting lineup in the Carabao Cup. The only mistake I remember from John during the pre-season was a poor pass into midfield against Udinese that led to a chance on goal - otherwise there’s been nothing alarming of note and that itself could be deemed ‘progress’.
Steven Benda
Given 45 minutes in Forest’s final pre-season game against Brest during which he had very little to do, it’s unlikely Benda sees any game time this season - if he does than it signals that things have gone very wrong.
Centre Backs
Nikola Milenkovic
Looked a little out of sorts for the goal conceded against Bayer Leverkusen at The City Ground, and was part of an underperforming & tiring backline against Sporting, but the Serbian will have benefitted from spending time in this new role for him this season in the middle of the back 3.
Murillo
One of a few players who’s pre-season was disrupted by injury, Murillo made his return against Barcelona and probably looked the best out of all those late returners to the lineup.
Ousmane Diomande
Only 45 minutes of public viewing to judge him on - he’ll take a bit more time than the others to adjust to his responsibilities and timings to jump out of the line, but he looked confident against Leverkusen.
Jair Cunha
Arguably the best performing centre back for Forest in pre-season, despite being asked to fill in across the back 3 as Glasner chopped and changed personnel. He’ll be first in line if and when there’s injuries or suspension.
Morato
No real clangers dropped from Morato during pre-season from memory, but nothing from him that moves him up the pecking order either. He probably finished last season as Forest’s most in-form centre back, but he’ll struggle to find the opportunitity to show that form this coming season.
Zach Abbott
Playing as one of the wider centre backs until the final pre-season game, I felt Abbott was probably the best of the wider options at trying to carry out Glasner’s instructions. Unfortunately, despite being brave and doing the right thing, he often wasn’t able to complete the necessary actions. Glasner has regularly mentioned he wants his younger players to show this kind of bravery though, and I think Abbott will have impressed the Austrian.
Tyler Bindon
There was probably an opportunity for Bindon to move from 6th choice CB to 5th choice at the start of pre-season, but the signing of Diomande & Abbott’s slightly better overall impression meant Bindon remains bottom of the pack. Not involved in most of the latter pre-season games, Bindon was given the closing stages against Brest and looked pretty composed and solid.
Wing Backs
Neco Williams
Glasner’s system suits Neco down to the ground, perhaps even more so if he was able to play on the right wing. He’s come back after the summer break in fine shape - a break Glasner & Williams agreed to cut short -and regularly got himself involved in both thirds. This is exactly what the Head Coach will have been asking for.
Ola Aina
Aina’s place in this team has been the subject of a lot of talk - the pre-season started with Glasner continually shouting instructions to him far more than most other players. To his credit, Aina has gradually adjusted to the Austrian’s demands, and toward the end of pre-season looked like he really understood what was being asked of him.
Luca Netz
Like Aina, I think he’s another player who has really adjusted well in the final couple of weeks of pre-season. He also was the subject of plenty of touchline instructions, and some of his set piece defending left a lot to be desired. Netz had his strongest pre-season game by a mile against Brest though, getting forward really well, adding to his assist in the Leverkusen game with a penalty-win and his first goal in a Forest shirt.
Eric da Silva Moreira
I’ve long said that I dont’ think the young German has a long term future of the club - but to be completely fair to him, some of his performances during this pre-season have been very encouraging. I still think though, despite being a dangerous attacking threat, he still has far too many defensive deficiencies in his game. These are present regardless of where he is, be that box defending, defending 1 v 1, or pressing at the right angles.
Central Midfielders
Ibrahim Sangare
Despite coming back slightly later than most of the first-team squad, Sangare has slotted in quite well in midfield during pre-season. His role will be slightly different to the midfielders that Glasner has had at his disposal previously, but his performances mean the question for the opening day is around who starts next to him, rather than whether he would be involved himself.
James McAtee
Easily the biggest surprise of pre-season, McAtee made his first appearance in a deeper role against Notts County, and continued to impress there throughout pre-season. He’s definitely bulked up a little, something he certainly needs if he is to have a future in the Premier League in a deeper role - he’s not quite answered the questions to that part of his game, but has given Glasner plenty to think about. This added versatility he’s shown can only aid his attempts for more playing time this season.
Nicolas Dominguez
Handed the ‘8’ shirt, Dominguez has looked pretty good during pre-season as he looks to grab one of the starting spots in the team. I’m not quite sure he’s done enough to do that, but I think Glasner will still see him as a very valuable member of the squad. His willingness to press in all phases will be helped by having proactive wider centre backs behind him, and that has shown up many times in these pre-season games.
Xaver Schlager
Forest’s first signing under Oliver Glasner has looked fairly good for the most part, and at one point in these last few weeks I thought he was a definite starter to begin the season. The emergence of McAtee has made that more difficult to predict - although the Austrian definitely has the physicality to succeed in the Premier League, I think he’s shown on a few occasions during this pre-season that he sometimes feels he has more time on the ball than he actually has - it’s something I noted when watching his appearance against Spain in the World Cup too. It’s something he’ll need to adjust to quickly, or he’ll create some dangerous turnovers for the opponent.
Ryan Yates
Coming off a season where Yates was clearly not involved as much as he would’ve hoped, it feels like this has been quite a disrupted pre-season for him. Reading between the lines, Yates hasn’t been involved in a few of the pre-season games, and in recent matches has been slotted in as the central centre back. Glasner has confirmed Yates may miss the opening day due to a slight issue, which won’t make his quest for more minutes any easier. In those early games, Yates was often being told to get ‘higher’ by Glasner - although this mostly came because it looked like Yates didn’t have the trust in his CB behind him to cover the space.
Attacking Midfielders
Morgan Gibbs-White
This time last year, Gibbs-White had finished a pretty difficult pre-season for him and the club. This lead to some poor form by his standards through the opening weeks - this time around though, the man who will wear the armband on opening day has been one of Forest’s best performers. That can only bode well for the start of the season.
Dan Ndoye
The last player to return to pre-season training following a successful World Cup, Ndoye missed the entire camp in Portugal. It looked like he had been working hard during his short time off though, as he looked pretty lively against Barcelona, and scored a nice goal against Leverkusen too. It’s a make-or-break season for Ndoye in English football, but he’s definitely got through pre-season well and will feel pretty optimistic about his game.
Arnaud Kalimuendo
Rumours continue to swirl about an impending departure for Kalimuendo, but with Taiwo Awoniyi set to leave the club, I’d imagine the only scenario where he can leave to is where Forest have strengthened first. Kalimuendo has looked fairly bright in pre-season, notching a couple of goals from a second-striker role. He and Ndoye represent the only real pacy options in Forest’s attacking third, and he’s definitely shown enough to be given the chance to stick around and fight for the spot next to Gibbs-White in the lineup.
Callum Hudson-Odoi
Injury finished his season early last time out, and has disrupted his pre-season too. He looked very rusty in Italy against Udinese - but we must remember that is always going to be the case when he’s almost a month behind every other player on the pitch. In the games at The City Ground - particularly against Brest - he looked far better, as he adjusts to a role that requires a narrower starting position.
Omari Hutchinson
Pre season started well for Hutchinson, being involved in the ‘first’ team against Notts County back in July. It looks like he has been hampered by injury ever since, which is a real shame for him. A first public sighting in a while against Brest was a positive one, but through little fault of his own he’s probably near the bottom of the pecking order.
Dilane Bakwa
Another who’s pre-season started well - he was arguably Forest’s best player against Notts County. Something seems to have changed since them, and I can only speculate that Glasner hasn’t been impressed with him during training sessions. He’s been left out completely of some pre-season games, and only played against Udinese due to slight injuries in the warm up to both Wood & Awoniyi. His poor pre-season was compounded by his weird decision to halt a counter attack late on against Brest as he slowed down to walking pace - Glasner didn’t look impressed and I think that might be the last we see of him in a Forest shirt.
Strikers
Igor Jesus
A first ‘proper’ break for the Brazilian in over 18 months looks to have done him the world of good. He has shown a real eye for goal in the early stages of pre-season, both from the striker position and from a slightly deeper role. For me, he’s played his way into the lineup on opening day with his form, aided slightly by concerns on Chris Wood’s match fitness.
Chris Wood
Many seemed to write Chris Wood off after a poor first game of pre-season against Sporting - for me this was incredibly unfair considering he had just joined up with the squad after an extended post-World Cup break. Typically, he then felt his quad before the Udinese game and didn’t play as a precaution, but this only fuelled those who had written him off. Wood returned to the starting lineup against Brest and looked pretty good, getting into some good positions, pressing well and scoring a penalty. We won’t see 2024/25 Chris Wood again, but he’ll still have a big part to play this coming season.
Taiwo Awoniyi
Forest’s Number 9 returned to pre-season training looking very fit and hungry, but of course there wouldn’t be optimism around Taiwo without a slight injury worry when a groin issue prevented him from appearing against Udinese. He returned only a few days later against Leverkusen, and then the news broke that he’ll be making the move to Coventry. It will be great to see Awoniyi get a real opportunity for consistent game time, he’s a player who’s given many of us some of the greatest Forest memories in recent times, and I think we all want him to succeed in 36 of Coventry’s 38 games.