Pundit says ‘struggling’ £18m Nottingham Forest player needs replacing in January

Nottingham Forest have made a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign and it looks as though the team will stabilise in the Premier League.

Ahead of Saturday’s home game with Ipswich, Forest are seventh in the table and have 19 points from 12 matches.

Nuno Espirito Santo has really kicked the team on during the season so far and he’s sill striving for a bit of consistency.

There have been some good performances over the campaign, with Chris Wood earning a new nickname from Shay Given after eight goals in 11 starts.

Whilst some players have started off the campaign well, others are still awaiting the chance to really get into the team and stake their claim for a place.

One of those is Taiwo Awoniyi and the striker is busy searching for match sharpness after a number of injuries.

Charlie McParland makes January plea to Nottingham Forest

It’s not entirely clear what the future holds for Forest when it comes to the January transfer window.

A striker is likely to remain on the wishlist at Forest but in a tough market to sign players, it remains to be seen if the club will be successful.

McParland is a former caretaker manager at Forest and he believes it’s very important that the club go and sign a new talisman.

He told Team Talk on Notts TV: “That’s a very good sign and I think Forest will go into the market and probably get another striker.

“Because, Awoniyi, he’s been right up there (gesticulates with his hand above his head) and he’s levelled out a bit and now he’s gone right down here (points to the floor) and he’s struggling a bit and Wood has kept him out of the team.

“As good as Wood has been he needs help, they need another striker. He’s been absolutely brilliant but he’s in his thirties now and he’s probably not going to play every week from now until the end of the season.”

Awoniyi still has a role to play at Forest but a new striker is needed

Forest shouldn’t wash their hands of Awoniyi just yet and he’s more than earned the right to get back into form at Forest.

However, most quality squads have at least three strikers and that means that another talisman wouldn’t go amiss at the City Ground.

Forest do need to go in search of a new striker in January and it would help for the second half of the campaign.

The club did some amazing work in the summer and if anyone comes in during January it needs to be someone who can compliment the current crop.

Having Wood, Awoniyi and one other striker would only enhance the options in the squad moving onto to the second half of the campaign.

Hopefully, Forest do stick with the Nigerian striker a little while longer, however, with the player boasting considerable credit in the bank.