Nottingham Forest's Action-Packed First Few Weeks - What Just Happened?

Nottingham Forest have had a whirlwind July.

First came the sale of one of their star players who was so crucial in earning European football last season, leaving fans hugely concerned ahead of the new campaign.

Then, their number 10 was revealed to be on the move until a court case and a new contract twist took its course.

In the middle of this, Forest brought in their own recruitments, delved into some marketing and had a UEFA verdict rule in their favour.

How did it all unfold?

Record Sale

Anthony Elanga - bought from Manchester United only two summers prior - waved goodbye to Nottingham and made the switch further up North for £55m.

Notching 17 goal involvements across the 2024/25 Premier League season, Newcastle United will feel they have secured themselves a dangerous winger who, at just 23, will only continue to develop.

The future certainly looks bright for him having scored on his debut in pre-season against Arsenal earlier this week.

🇸🇪⚡️ Anthony Elanga (23) scores against Arsenal in pre-season! ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/AqRleKAF1O
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) July 27, 2025

How do Forest start to fill the void left by the Swede, even with options such as Callum Hudson-Odoi ready to come in on the wing?

The saga started when Thomas Frank made the short managerial switch from Brentford to North London, bringing his transfer shortlist with him which had a certain name imprinted on it - Morgan Gibbs-White.

Unbeknown to anyone, when the English midfielder signed his five-year contract after joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2022, a £60m release clause was inserted.

Originally, it was reported that Spurs had started negotiations for a fee with Forest, until transfer-guru David Ornstein broke the news that a release clause had been activated.

🚨 Morgan Gibbs-White contract believed to include £60m release clause. Tottenham Hotspur working to sign midfielder from Nottingham Forest. #THFC boss Thomas Frank was keen on #NFFC / England player while at Brentford @TheAthleticFC after @JPercyTelegraph https://t.co/hHl4WQXlB6
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) July 10, 2025

Whilst fans and the media were made aware that Gibbs-White had a medical booked for a couple of days' time, behind the scenes The Reds were preparing for a legal case that would prove another twist to the saga.

The club believed that a confidentiality agreement had been broken by Tottenham, as Forest never gave them permission to speak to the player.

Under Premier League rules, clubs can't talk to players unless they have permission from the selling team, or they could be guilty of 'tapping up' the player - which has led to financial sanctions seen in Ashley Cole's scandal with Chelsea in 2005.

Eventually, Spurs took a step back from the deal and the player ended up signing a new 'record deal' at the club that runs until June 2028 - and presumably without a release clause in it.

Botafogo Merry-Go-Round

Whilst the transfer department was heating up within England, moves were being made elsewhere with a certain Brazilian club.

Botafogo, fresh from their impressive Club World Cup run to the knockout stages, lost two of their best players whilst gaining a defensive midfielder all from the same source.

The signing of Igor Jesus on a £10m fee could prove to be an absolute bargain for a striker who scored the winning goal in a famous 1-0 victory over Paris Saint Germain at the Club World Cup.

1️⃣9️⃣ Nottingham Forest Igor Jesus to wear squad #19 as confirmed by @YoutubeFFTV interview. #NFFC 🔴🌳 pic.twitter.com/2CheoOFHqY
— Matthew (@prowlerthedevil) July 22, 2025

Following closely was the arrival of 20-year-old Jair Cunha, a centre-back who made 24 appearances for Santos before joining Botafogo for five months.

The defender also has eight caps for Brazil's U20 side and played as his country won the U20 South America Championship earlier this year.

Capping the transfer trades was Danilo, having played 62 times in the Premier League since joining from Palmeiras in 2023, with a broken ankle injury limiting his 2024/25 play time to just 13 matches.

European Promotion

The confusion surrounding Crystal Palace's Europa League hopes rested on the outcome of Lyon's provisional relegation appeal, which was eventually successful for the French club as the Eagles were demoted to the Conference League due to Multi-Club Ownership rules.

Having got round an MCO risk of their own regarding Evangelos Marinakis' ownership of Olympiacos, Forest were promoted a level and have now taken Crystal Palace's Europa League spot.

Kit Launch

To mark the 160th anniversary of their founding, Adidas and Nottingham Forest released a classic shirt.

Featuring a retro-inspired collar with touches of pinstripes that were first introduced in 1981 but no longer traditionally used to give it that older style, this certainly ticks all the boxes for a throwback shirt.

Shop our new home kit online now. 📲
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) July 10, 2025

From a non-biased perspective, this definitely has the potential to be one of the shirts of the season, especially if it remains sponsor less or a new front-of-shirt deal fits well.

Where To Go From Here?

Most fans are still very concerned with the lack of depth in certain areas, particularly out wide as they are yet to strengthen there since the departure of Elanga.

On top of this, European football means Forest's squad will be stretched even further both physically and mentally, and we have seen plenty of teams in this situation end up having a poor season due to a lack of squad size being unable to cope with continental commitments.

The most important thing for Forest is to keep the likes of Chris Wood, Mats Selz, Murillo and Gibbs-White ticking over and continuing their fine levels that they met last season, otherwise they could return to their 2023/24 standards which saw them rack-up just 32 points.