Steve Cooper suggests 25-year-old is itching to play for Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper has suggested that Omar Richards is itching to play for the club. The 25-year-old defender missed the entire 2022/23 season with a fractured leg and then a hernia problem that required surgery.
Richards is now back, however, and is taking part in pre-season training. He didn’t play against Notts County on Saturday but is expected to take part in at least one of the two games in Spain this week.
The player signed from Bayern Munich around 12 months ago. He had made 17 appearances for the Bundesliga champions the year previous but moved to Forest for a fee of around £8.5 million.
It proved a really frustrating time of things for Richards. The fractured leg became apparent after one of his first training sessions; much to the dismay of Evangelos Marinakis who felt it should have been picked up during the medical.
Now, the player will simply hope to get back to action as soon as possible. He could get that chance this evening when Forest play Valencia, with Levante to come on Saturday.
Richards has experience in England. He made over 100 appearances for Reading having come through their youth academy before earning his big move to Bayern Munich.
Cooper has suggested that Richards is itching to play for Forest
The head coach is clearly delighted for Richards and he can’t wait to see him in action for Forest. The player is seemingly working hard and he could be edging closer to his debut.
Cooper told The Athletic: “Omar is back training. I would say he is training at 75 per cent. We are hoping he will feature in one of the games. He deserves that. Just having him back part of the group and on the schedules, being part of training and in meetings – you can see that he’s got a real spring in his step.”
Richards could have an immediate chance to stake his claim for a place in the Forest team. Renan Lodi has now signed for Marseille, whilst Harry Toffolo could find himself unavailable for some time.
The London-born player could prove to be a bit of a secret weapon at Forest this season. Hopefully, he can put his injury problems behind him and showcase his worth to the Reds fan base.
READ MORE
Emmanuel Dennis of Nottingham Forest and Taiwo Awoniyi of Nottingham Forest celebrate victory and another season in the Premier League during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal at the City Ground, Nottingham on Saturday 20th May 2023. (Photo by AFP)
Both Nigeria internationals joined Forest last season, though Awoniyi had a remarkable campaign with the reds, scoring crucial goals that ensured their Premier League safety.
The club and manager, Steve Cooper, are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, with the coach hoping to have the players available for the club’s upcoming pre-season friendly against Levante on Saturday.
The Athletic reports that a slightly different piece of paperwork is required for Nigerians to enter Spain, which could further explain the reason for the delay in securing their visas.
Last season proved to be a very successful one for Awoniyi. He finished the campaign with 11 goals in all competitions after joining from Union Berlin for £17.5million. The 25-year-old scored some important goals for Forest, including the winner against his former employers, Liverpool, at The City Ground.
Awoniyi also scored the most important goal of the season for Forest, when he netted against Arsenal at home. The goal did not only end Arsenal’s title dream, it ensured that the two-time former European champions, who got promoted after 24 years away from the English topflight, would stay for at least another season in the Premier League.
But Dennis, who scored only two goals for the club in 19 appearances after joining for around £20million from Championship side, Watford, in the same window as Awoniyi, will be eyeing a better campaign in the 2023/24 season.
Leave a Reply