How Nottingham Forest have outspent Barcelona, PSG and Man Utd

Robin Bairner

• 30 Aug 2022 16:25 CDT
• 3 min read

It’s official: by signing Morgan Gibbs-White from Wolves for €50 million (£42.5 million), Nottingham Forest became the second biggest spenders of the 2022 summer transfer window.

Only Chelsea – a giant under reconstruction following a complicated summer takeover – have made a bigger net spend than the Premier League newcomers.

Barcelona have caught heat this summer for making three big-money signings in Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde, yet even that Catalans side have not splashed as much cash as the Championship playoff winners.

Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham are all clubs reckoned to have done good business in the window. None have come close to the €150m net spend that Forest are estimated to have lavished on new signings this summer.

And the busyness of Forest in the window contrasts sharply to Manchester United, who are still struggling to get any deals done.

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Who have Nottingham Forest signed?

Gibbs-White arrives from Wolves as the marquee signing of the busy summer transfer campaign that has seen Forest’s squad totally revolutionised. He enjoyed a strong season on loan at Sheffield United in the Championship last season, but has shown little to suggest that he is worth the fee that has been paid for him. Indeed, FootballTransfers values the player at just €7m.

Beyond the 22-year-old, though, Forest have added Taiwo Awoniyi and Neco Williams to their ranks from Union Berlin and Liverpool respectively.

They have also signed a glut of players in the €10-15m bracket: Emmanuel Dennis, Orel Mangala, Moussa Niakhate, Giulian Biancone, Remo Freuler and Omar Richards.

Brazilian international Renan Lodi also joined on loan from Atletico Madrid, along with Bordeaux striker Ui-Jo Hwang, who immediately went out on loan to Olympiakos.

And on top of all this, they have also added three players on free transfers, the most prominent of which has been former Manchester United attacker Jesse Lingard.

In total, 18 new players have arrived, 16 on permanent contracts.

Balancing this out has been the sale of goalkeeper Brice Samba to Lens for just €5m.