Who could Forest target at left-back?
With news breaking yesterday that Forest have had a second bid turned down for Napoli's Mathias Olivera, who else could they target to provide some much needed full-back depth?
A reliable, Premier League-level, natural left back has arguably been missing from the Forest squad since Renan Lodi’s loan expired at the end of the 2022/23 season. They’ve been heavily linked with Mathias Olivera of Napoli, but the Italian side seem hesitant to sanction a sale. Let’s have a look at some other players Forest could target.
Josh Doig - (23) - Sassuolo
Ex-Hibernian left back Josh Doig is one of many Scottish players that have found their way over to Italian football in recent years. A move to Verona for around £3m in the summer of 2022 was his first step abroad, before a move in January 2024 to fellow Serie A side Sassuolo for around double that investment.
Doig is putting up some really decent defensive numbers, albeit for a side that has struggled to keep the ball out of the net this season - he’s part of a defence that has only kept 5 clean sheets in 21 games.
Doig is a proactive defender, much preferring to engage attackers in wide areas rather than defending closer to this box. He’s one of the strongest left-backs in Serie A in this regard. He wins over 65% of his tackles, and standing at over 6”2, wins over 60% of his defensive aerial duels - couple this with his willingness to put his body in the way of shots, then he has a profile that would appeal to Sean Dyche.
You’re not going to get a tremendous amount of creativity out of Doig - but he would provide some solidity on the left, and a natural left-footed option who’s willing to get up and down the flank. Many Scotland fans scratch their heads as to why he struggles to be involved in the national team set up, perhaps a return to the more high profile British game would appeal to him as he looks to try and get on the plane to the World Cup this summer.
Aaron Zehnter - (21) - Wolfsburg
Enjoying his first full season as a Bundesliga player, Aaron Zehnter is a player who’s career seems to be on an upward trajectory. This might not be the easiest transfer in the world to make if Forest were interested, as Wolfsburg only made their move to sign Zehnter from Paderborn last summer after two impressive campaigns in the second tier.
To have such a well-rounded data profile at such a young age is pretty impressive, especially when you take into account it’s his first season at this level too. Zehnter is calm and composed in the final third, but still shows good defensive nous at the other end of the pitch.
His 1v1 defensive work does need some improvement, but he’d be in a great position to learn from the likes of Neco Williams & Ola Aina. He does tend to find himself in the right positions to pick up loose balls, which is always a good trait to have.
There’s a lot of green here on Zehnter’s Pitch Impact visual, showing that he can contribute at both ends of the pitch. He’d likely come well within Forest’s budget if the reported £20m they had on offer for Olivera is still there ready to be spent.
Gabriel Suazo - (28) - Sevilla
Chilean international Gabriel Suazo is a player that popped up on my radar back in the summer of 2024 when he was my first choice pick for Forest’s next left back. He stayed at Toulouse for another season, before moving to Sevilla last summer and he’s having a wonderful season in La Liga.
For me, Suazo ticks almost every single box that I’d imagine Dyche wants to see from his left back. He has the best tackle success rate of all La Liga left backs this season - whilst also blocking shots at a high rate. But what’s really valuable about him is his ability to be effective going forward too.
Suazo ranks very highly in progressive & creative passing metrics, and his left foot is also responsible for some set piece delivery too. We can see from his visual above that he’s happy to get very high up the pitch and put crosses into the box, or even get into the box himself to cut back the ball to his team mates.
Using my metrics, Suazo ranks as the best playmaking left-back in the Spanish top tier, as well as the best shielding left-back too - what more do you want!? Seriously though, he seems to fit the profile of what Forest have been looking for in this window.
In the summer, Forest spend heavily on players they’d hope would go on to improve during their time in Nottingham and have significant resale value - most of the links in January have been to players with a little more experience. Suazo definitely ticks this box, and with Sevilla nowhere near the European places, they could be tempted to do business. (I’m sure Suazo wouldn’t mind getting away from Vlachodimos either!).
Other Options:
Some other players who I think long-term would be a really good fit at Forest, but probably not in the current circumstances are:
Diego Moreira - (21) - Strasbourg: An attack-minded left back who can play anywhere on the left, he’s already got a loose link with Forest with his cousin Eric da Silva Moreira contracted to the club. He would be a very costly addition though and is a more likely option for the summer.
Joaquin Seys - (20) - Club Brugge: I came across Seys initially when watching Maxim de Cuyper (who joined Brighton in the summer) - he’s filled into his shoes very well but has lots to learn defensively, so certainly wouldn’t fit in Forest’s current side at this point.
Louis Leroux - (20) - Nantes: The French U21 international has been heavily involved this season for his club both at left-back and in central midfield. He’s got a really interesting profile but perhaps is not quite ready for a move to the Premier League - unfortunately I believe he’s also injured for most of February.