Steve Cooper trims dead wood to put Nottingham Forest on solid ground

Nottingham Forest proved in January the progress they are making. For many, the victories over Arsenal and arch-rivals Derby were the biggest moments, but for others getting expensive flops off the books and not overpaying in the market were significant.

The departures of Carl Jenkinson and Lyle Taylor, among others, take the club one step closer to escaping the previous era of excess, when players were signed on inflated wages in the hope of securing a return to the Premier League. In recent years many shortsighted incomings have not lived up to their billing, leaving Forest, who face Leicester in the FA Cup on Sunday, losing money without the reward of promotion.

Jenkinson joined in summer 2019 but played 11 games in two and a half years. Taylor, who was earning more than £30,000 a week, has left on loan after scoring eight times in 60 appearances since signing a three-year deal aged 30, a further sign of financial exuberance.

Forest’s latest accounts showed a £32m operating loss for the year ending March 2020, a sign things needed to change. Dane Murphy arrived last year from Barnsley to become the chief executive and a new statistics-led recruitment team was installed with a remit to lower the cost and average age of the squad. Murphy plays a key role in recruitment, offering a different perspective after playing professionally in the United States and Germany.

Fifteen first-team players have left on permanent or loan deals since the end of last season while summer recruits had to be 26 or younger and cost less than £10,000 a week. This season’s departures have reduced the average age and saved millions in wages.

Despite optimism the squad was capable of promotion, things started badly under Chris Hughton, six