Nottingham Forest’s pre-season trip to Spain has now come to an end and it brought about the first defeat of the summer.
Results are not really viewed as important to managers during pre-season but Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side had made a bright start in their three previous games.
However, Forest were undone by the La Liga 2 side Elche who sealed the win with a 1-0 victory.
Nuno continued to mix things up with no strikers involved in the game in Spain on Friday night with neither Chris Wood or Taiwo Awoniyi featuring.
But there was some positive news with Elliot Anderson passing his fitness tests after picking up a nasty knock against Millwall on Tuesday.
‘Terrific’ midfielder impressed for Forest vs Elche
Forest have also enjoyed an impressive start to the summer transfer window with five players already through the door.
Signing number six could soon be set to arrive at the City Ground with Forest in talks with Talleres over winger Ramon Sosa.
Nuno’s side have certainly had a good run out over in Spain in what has proven to be a worthwhile trip to the continent.
Friday night certainly did not mark the best of performances for the Reds but there was one player who impressed.
Journalist Sarah Clapson was covering and she admitted Ibrahim Sangare had seriously impressed her during the game against the Spanish outfit.
The £30m midfielder came on at half-time as Nuno changed his XI once again and was pulling out some impressive passes.
“Terrific ball from Sangare, who has been very impressive so far. Found Hwang on the edge of the box. Shot crashed off the woodwork,” she wrote for the Nottingham Post‘s coverage of the game.
Clapson was not the only one to pick up on Sangare’s display with Chris Kearney left dreaming about a midfield of Anderson, Danilo and Sangare ahead of the new season.
Nuno has worked Forest hard in Spain
The beauty of making the trip abroad in pre-season is the different climate which the players are able to train and play in.
Of course, it is always nice to get some sun on the skin, but this also offers the likes of Nuno to really push his players’ fitness levels.
Pre-season is all about getting the players ready physically for a long season ahead and Forest found themselves training in the 40C Spain heat.
Despite this, Anthony Elanga has admitted Nuno put Forest through double training sessions during their week in Spain.
Forest’s 2023/24 campaign was certainly a turbulent one, but it seems the players are putting in the work to make sure they are not caught in another relegation battle.
