Nottingham Forest have little more than a week remaining to complete their summer window transfer business.
Head coach Oliver Glasner is confident Nottingham Forest will get the signings they want over the line before the transfer window closes.
The Reds have brought in three summer additions already, in midfielder Xaver Schlager, defender Ousmane Diomande and back-up goalkeeper Steven Benda. Glasner said last week the idea of further strengthening in midfield has been placed on the backburner, despite the club having previously targeted Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Bergvall.
The Austrian wants to see two new faces through the City Ground doors before the 11pm September 1 deadline, with a right-back and a striker wanted. He has insisted Forest ripping up their plans following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Leeds United would just be a sign of “panic”.
Asked if his thoughts about potential transfer business had changed after the Reds’ opening-day defeat in the Premier League, Glasner said: “No, it stays the same. I think this would just be panic if we now start judging the players differently after one game.
“I have known them for a couple of weeks and we know what they are capable of. Also, some players arrived later due to different reasons. We had some players with very long injuries, like Murillo and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
“They are not in their top shape but I think, for example, Murillo had a very good performance (on Saturday). Probably I should have subbed him a little bit earlier because I could feel that he was getting fatigued.
“I asked him a few times during the game and he always wanted to continue playing, and I always trust my players with how they feel on the pitch. I think he had a very good performance, as long as the legs did what his head told them to do. He needs the minutes to be the Murillo everybody knows.
“I think we know what we can do. We still see a lot of potential in the team where we can improve. But they also showed, and can play more with, their strengths and with the skills they have.
“Everything else is the same. We have targeted our areas and our players. I’m even more confident today than I was on Saturday that we will have these two players in before the end of the transfer window. But don’t ask me names!”
Glasner’s competitive bow in charge of the club did not go the way he had hoped. But as Forest prepare to host Leeds again on Tuesday night, this time in the Carabao Cup (8pm kick-off), he was nevertheless encouraged by what he saw.
“As I mentioned post-match, I think the performance was okay,” said the Reds boss. “It was probably not top, top performance but it can be expected at the beginning after a few weeks of pre-season.
“We analysed the game. We showed the players many clips, in and out of possession. I could see many promising signs that we are going in the right direction. Of course, there are many parts still to improve but as a short summary we look very stable in defence.
“I think we defended the set-pieces very well and we created a few good opportunities. We could and want to create more opportunities to score, but also credit to Leeds United – they defended very well and very aggressively.
“It was a game where the team that scores first would win. Unfortunately, it was Leeds. Tomorrow we have the next chance to get the game and get the win on our side.”
