Has Nottingham Forest’s sudden ascent led to too many changes?

When was it that alarm bells began to ring? Was it when Omar Richards arrived from Bayern Munich for £8.5m to become Nottingham Forest’s sixth summer signing? Was it Lewis O’Brien’s £6m switch from Huddersfield? Or perhaps Remo Freuler, signed this past week from Atalanta for £7.6m, was one signing too many – and that was before a £20m fee was agreed for Emmanuel Dennis.

If that move is concluded then Forest will have brought in 15 players this summer at a cost of just under £110m, and they have been strongly linked with Morgan Gibbs‑White. That figure, irrespective of the quality of the players or the logic of each individual signing, is enough to inspire a qualm of anxiety.

Premier League history is dotted with the minatory lessons of the overspenders. Nobody wants to do a Middlesbrough 1996-97, a Derby 2006-07, a QPR 2011-12 or a Fulham 2018-19. The dangers of mass changes should be clear, but the riches of the Premier League can do strange things to directors.

Six of Forest’s new signings started the 2-0 defeat at Newcastle last Saturday and two more came off the bench. There were eight changes from the team that started the playoff final. If Forest looked disjointed, it’s hardly surprising. While Forest’s board have actively chosen the degree of turbulence, some level of flux is inevitable.

Forest’s rise was sudden. They were bottom when Steve Cooper was appointed in September and played themselves into the playoff spots only in April.

By the end of the season, they had five loanees as regular starters, none of whom joined the club on a permanent basis, while the goalkeeper Brice Samba refused a contract extension and left for Lens. That’s immediately half a team that needs replacing, which is part of the problem of