Nottingham Forest have struggled mightily to score goals during the 2025/26 Premier League season, which has undoubtedly kept the club locked in a relegation battle.
Sean Dyche’s side have scored just 24 points in 24 league games so far, with attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White currently top scorer with six goals.
No center forward has scored more than two goals in a league match this season, and goalkeeper Chris Wood has been out injured since last season after undergoing knee surgery.
Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi have only scored three goals combined in the top flight, underscoring the challenges the manager has had to deal with since taking over.
Lorenzo Lucca was called up to the City Ground to improve the situation, but the Italian was not the only attacker to catch their attention in January.
How close Nottingham Forest were to signing Mateta
In a bid to bring in a new centre-forward this winter, Forest manager has named Crystal Palace star Jean-Philippe Mateta as an option that could improve his squad.
The Frenchman has expressed his desire to leave Selhurst Park in January, leading to the 28-year-old submitting a transfer request in a bid to force a move.
As a result, the Reds offered him around £35m for his services, but such an offer fell short of Oliver Glasner’s valuation of around £40m.
Mateta had even agreed personal terms with Diche’s men for the transfer, until AC Milan burst into the race and took the lead, agreeing to leave in recognition of his achievements.
The player traveled to Italy for a medical check with the Italian national team, but a knee injury was noted during the medical test, so the transfer did not materialize.
Former Forest striker still outperforms Mateta after leaving the club
Given the big rumors about attacking reinforcements in January, the Forest faithful will no doubt be disappointed by the lack of additions within the final third.
Lucca has yet to make his debut at the City Ground, but his lack of Premier League experience certainly makes him a somewhat risky addition to the squad this winter.
It is also unclear whether the Italian will become a regular starter under Diche, or whether the manager will stick close to Jesus and provide supplies in front of goal.
Mateta would have definitely been an upgrade to our attacking options, with the Frenchman already having scored eight league goals in 2025/26.
However, the club may have made a mistake in allowing former striker Sam Surridge to move to the East Midlands, given his form away from the City Ground in recent years.
The Englishman made a total of 50 appearances for the Reds after joining for £2 million from Stoke City in January 2022.
The 27-year-old scored 11 goals in 18 months in the East Midlands, often helping the Reds return to the Premier League.
However, in his first season back in the top flight, he was often seen as a bit-part player under manager Steve Cooper, before completing a £5 million move to MLS side Nashville SC in 2023.
Since then, Surridge has played 88 games for the American club, scoring 51 goals, and then showed great ability in front of goal.
During his most recent season in MLS, the 27-year-old scored 31 goals in 40 appearances, with only iconic player Lionel Messi scoring more goals.
Sam Surridge’s stats since leaving Forest | |
|---|---|
Statistics (per 90 people) | tally |
games played | 88 |
Number of points scored | 51 |
assist | 8 |
minutes per goal | 137 |
minutes per assist | 877 |
yellow card | 12 |
penalty scored | 6 |
missed a penalty | 0 |
Statistics via Transfermarkt | |
Surridge has reached astronomical levels since leaving the City Ground, and it has since become clear that the club made a mistake in letting him leave.
Mateta has found the back of the net just 22 times in the past 18 months, but the former Forest star has scored a further nine goals, and his clinical acumen has continued to shine through in MLS. He was simply amazing, with teammate Daniel Lovitz praising him as “a really dangerous guy to play against” after scoring a hat trick in a 3-2 win over the New England Revolution.
There is no doubt that he has shown the goal-scoring talent needed to get the Reds out of their current situation, and the bosses will no doubt regret the decision to let him leave.
Considering his recent exploits in America, £5 million seems like a very low price, but that loss could be returned at the end of the season.
Nottingham Forest struck gold by signing Cooper, who is worth more than Engels.
Nottingham Forest may have missed out on Arne Engels, but they brought gold to another player.
