With Nottingham Forest bringing in 13 new signings once again this summer, Steve Cooper is starting to figure out his best starting XI.
However, there is one player who still deserves the opportunity to showcase his abilities after joining the club.
Goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos joined the club on deadline day from Portuguese champions Benfica for a fee in the region of £8 million, however, he’s yet to feature at all for the Reds.
Fellow new signing Matt Turner has started every game in league and cup since his arrival, but Cooper should give the 29-year-old Vlachodimos a game to stake his claim for the number one spot.
Vlachodimos deserves his chance
The Greek international ‘keeper has great pedigree – playing over 150 times for Benfica, with multiple of those coming in the Champions League.
Last night, Vlachodimos started for Greece against the Republic of Ireland, keeping a clean sheet in a crucial victory in their hunt for automatic qualification for EURO 2024.
He made four saves, with three punches from crosses – whilst having 81% pass accuracy during the game.
The 29-year-old successfully made 13 long passes, demonstrating his qualities in distribution on top of his shot-stopping.
A debut against Luton?
After his solid international performance once again last night, Vlachodimos will certainly be causing Forest boss Cooper a headache over his selection ahead of the Luton clash next Saturday.
Given his experience and pedigree, he won’t want to be joining the Reds purely to be sat on the substitutes bench – with his performance last night backing up the point that he’s too good to be a bench warmer.
Hopefully, Cooper will give Vlachodimos his deserved start after the international break.
