Nottingham Forest have been nothing short of excellent this season. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are flying in the Premier League, and currently sit fifth in the table on 47 points, with a six-point difference between them and fifth-place Manchester City.
Their side has been spearheaded by Chris Wood, who has 17 Premier League goals to his name this term, and Anthony Elanga, who has eight assists in total. Morgan Gibbs-White has also been excellent, with Jamie Carragher describing his performances as “absolutely fantastic”, explaining he has been a “revelation” for the East Midlands outfit.
Another player who has impressed this season is midfielder Elliot Anderson.
Elliot Anderson’s 2024/25 campaign
It certainly seems like Forest got a fantastic deal with Anderson in the summer transfer window. He made the move from his boyhood club Newcastle United to switch to the City Ground, with Forest paying a fee upwards of £35m.
The 22-year-old has played 23 times for this club in the top flight so far this term and has one goal and five assists to his name. One of those assists saw him impressively create a last-minute winner for Elanga against Aston Villa to help his side to a 2-1 win.
His manager, Nuno, was full of praise for the Forest number eight earlier in the season. He described him as “an amazing talent for such a young player”.
“With Elliot, first of all, he is an amazing talent for such a young player. He is competitive and wants to improve. He knows he is good but wants to be better. That is the first step. We are delighted to have him. I think it was a very good deal.”
Alongside the likes of Gibbs-White in the middle of the park, Anderson’s hard-working nature and creative flair have served him well in Garibaldi Red this season. He has certainly been an important cog in the works at the City Ground.
Incredibly, as well as he is playing, the 22-year-old is getting outperformed by a former Forest loanee who struggled during his time at the club.
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The former Nottingham Forest player out-performing Anderson
Despite their success this season, Forest have had a lot of players represent the club since their promotion back to the Premier League in 2022. One of those was Andrey Santos, who struggled to make a mark on the club.
The Brazilian joined on a season-long loan from Chelsea in the 2023/24 campaign but made just two appearances during his stint in red. One of those was in the Premier League, a seven-minute substitute cameo against Liverpool, and the other was a Carabao Cup start against Burnley.
This season, the 20-year-old finds himself on loan at French side Strasbourg, Chelsea’s sister club, where he has really impressed in Ligue 1. In 22 games across all competitions, he has eight goals and three assists, more than Anderson in both instances.
Someone who has spoken highly of Santos this season is Alex Barker, also known as Euro Expert, a content creator for The Athletic. He explained the qualities Santos has could lead to him becoming “an elite ball-playing defensive midfielder” in the Premier League, which must leave Forest full of regret given the lack of opportunities they gave him.
There are also several key metrics via Squawka in which Santos excels over Anderson. Looking specifically at domestic top-flight football this season, the Brazilian has a better conversion rate in front of goal, with 35% compared to 10%, and has a better ground duel win rate, with 68.13% compared to 55.4%.
|
Santos vs. Anderson key stats compared |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat (per 90) |
Santos |
Anderson |
|
Non-penalty goals |
0.4 |
0.1 |
|
Conversion rate |
35% |
10% |
|
Forward passes |
15.6 |
13.5 |
|
Blocked shots |
0.5 |
0.3 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
68.13% |
55.4% |
|
Stats from Squawka |
||
On reflection, seeing how well Santos is playing must be incredibly frustrating for Forest. Not only is the Brazilian continuing to more goals than Anderson but he leads the way in several key metrics.
This is not to say Nuno would rather have one over the other in midfield, but having both in the squad would have been a real luxury. Unfortunately, he now seems out of reach at the City Ground given how his time there panned out.
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