- Forest will discover whether they will be charged for FFP breaches this month
- The east Midlands club have signed 43 players in the last three transfer windows
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Nottingham Forest are set to limit their big-spending ways during this transfer window as they wait to learn whether they will be charged with breaking spending rules.
Forest will know later in January if they are to become the third top-flight club charged with not complying with Financial Fair Play rules, following Everton’s 10-point deduction last year and Manchester City’s alleged breach.
Yet Forest have signed 43 players during the last three transfer windows and are likely to adopt a calmer strategy this time, not least as new boss Nuno Espirito Santo prefers a smaller squad and that means the playing group is likely to be trimmed.
Andrey Santos has had his loan from Chelsea cut short and two of their summer deadline day signings, Andrew Omobamidele and Nuno Tavares, may also leave, while centre-backs Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna might also be moved on.
Should they be punished, Forest would risk a points penalty. Mail Sport understands that if they are ruled to have transgressed, part of their defence is likely to involve the sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham for £47.5million in August.
Nottingham Forest have signed 43 players during the last three transfer windows but are likely to adopt a calmer approach
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will find out later in January if they will be the third top-flight club to be charged for not complying with FFP
As FFP calculations are made over a three-year period ending on June 30, the Johnson deal will count towards the reckoning for 2021-2024, rather than 2020-23. Clubs are permitted to make financial losses of £105 million over a three-year period, with Forest reporting an annual loss of £45.6 million in their last accounts.
Forest say they could have sold Johnson to Brentford in June for about £30million, which would have put them in a healthier financial state for the 2020-23…