Two of the 13 summer signings at Nottingham Forest delighted people behind the scenes more than most.
In Arnaud Kalimuendo and Dilane Bakwa, both 23, the club believed they had landed two of the most exciting young players in Europe. The capture of the striker and the winger, two weeks apart — for £26million ($35m) from Rennes and £30million from Strasbourg — was regarded as being a line in the sand.
Following their seventh-placed finish in the Premier League and with European football secured, Forest felt they had delivered a message of intent. But less than five months later, Kalimuendo’s departure on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt says as much about the chaos that has engulfed Forest since his arrival as it does about his own potential.
The first waves of unrest had already broken three days before Kalimuendo’s signing was made official, when Nuno Espirito Santo made his displeasure public for the first time, on August 15. He insisted the club had left themselves with a “major problem” because of the speed of their recruitment.
Only Igor Jesus and Jair Cunha had arrived in time to join Forest’s pre-season training camp in Portugal, which was in stark contrast to the year before, when Nuno felt the foundations for Forest’s success were built on a training camp in Murcia, Spain.
There was further significance to the 13-player, £200million recruitment plan: the club also wanted the team to evolve into a side that could retain more possession and stamp their own influence on games. Nuno was on board with this notion, understanding that Forest’s opposition had begun to figure them out.
So in July and August, players such as Kalimuendo were signed with Plan A in mind. But, by September, Nuno had talked himself out of a job as he questioned his relationship with Edu, the then newly appointed global head of football within the Evangelos Marinakis empire — and with the Forest owner himself.
Summer signings were originally planned to help Nuno’s squad evolve (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Forest moved on to Plan B — and an entirely new ethos — under Ange Postecoglou. He lasted only eight games and 39 days before being sacked. Now, since his appointment in October, Sean Dyche is the man who has been attempting to implement Plan C.
Against the backdrop of three different managers and three different playing styles, Kalimuendo has failed secure a single Premier League start, playing only 96 minutes across nine substitute appearances. In the Europa League, where he has made four appearances, he has scored twice, including a vital strike in the 2-1 win in Utrecht.
But Dyche felt Kalimuendo was still adapting. “For Kali, it is a big learning curve. The competitive element of the Premier League is different: the fitness levels, the pace, the power… all of it,” said Dyche in a recent press conference.
“We are using these players as best as we can, as wisely as we can. Some players are fitting in more quickly than others. That is just how it is.”
With Chris Wood’s knee injury having led to him requiring surgery over the Christmas period, Dyche found himself needing to bolster his forward options during the transfer window with someone who can hit the ground running.
Frankfurt’s interest in signing Kalimuendo — on loan with the option of making the move permanent — made sense to Forest, especially with them needing to be careful to remain within profit and sustainability regulations (PSR).
When asked if allowing Kalimuendo to move on would help to catalyse a new signing, Dyche, speaking in his pre-match press conference before the trip to Wrexham in the FA Cup on Friday, said: “That is certainly part of the thinking. There has to be a trading model now, with an element of PSR as well. There has never been a shortage of funds from the owner — he has always made funds available and made it clear that he will back the club.
“It is more the idea of trading the right player in the right places, and this deal was a very good one. If the club feels that a deal is right, then they will look to activate that.”
Forest are pushing to sign alternative options, with Jorgen Strand Larsen among their targets. Any move for the Wolverhampton Wanderers striker could cost as much as £40million. Relegation-threatened Wolves turned down a higher offer — worth in the region of £55m — from Newcastle in the summer, but his value has been hit in the aftermath, with the 25-year-old having scored once in 19 league appearances this season. He netted 14 times in the previous campaign.
At 6ft 4in (193cm), Strand Larsen would provide a similar physical presence to Wood in the Forest forward line, although, despite his size, he is not a traditional target man.
He is also not the only option. Olympiacos forward Mehdi Taremi is high on their four-man shortlist. As they fight to pull clear of the bottom three — and to sustain a European challenge — Forest appreciate the value of experience and the 33-year-0ld would bring that in abundance.
Taremi has scored 56 goals in 101 international appearances with Iran, as well as being a prolific goal scorer with Rio Ave and Porto in Portugal, averaging a goal every other game for both clubs. Last season, he helped Inter reach the Champions League final, providing an assist in the second leg of their semi-final win against Barcelona. Overall, he has scored 217 goals in 467 senior club appearances, including 12 goals in 20 games since joining Olympiacos last summer.
Experience is also a factor with Forest’s two other targets, Youssef En-Nesyri of Fenerbahce and Roma’s Artem Dovbyk.
Morocco international En-Nesyri, 28, has scored 38 goals in 77 appearances in all competitions in Turkey since joining Fenerbahce in 2024. He had scored 73 goals in 196 appearances for Sevilla across four seasons.
Dovbyk, also 28, has scored 20 times in 62 appearances for Roma, following a prolific spell with Girona in La Liga during the 2023-24 season, when he netted 24 goals in 39 appearances. All of Forest’s targets are 6ft 2in or above, which would provide some of the presence they have been missing in Wood’s absence.
By allowing Kalimuendo to move, Forest have risked giving themselves an issue in the Europa League, as new players cannot be registered until the end of the league phase.
Taiwo Awoniyi is not included in the Europa League squad and Wood will not recover from his knee injury for weeks — he will have a scan to monitor his progress in the next few days — which leaves Igor Jesus as the only forward option for the game in Braga and the final fixture against Ferencvaros. The Brazilian will pick up a suspension in the competition if he collects a yellow card in Portugal.
Strand Larsen is on Forest’s radar (Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Awoniyi’s strikes have twice previously helped to steer Forest clear of relegation. The 28-year-old has scored 17 Premier League goals, within 33 starts and 47 substitute appearances, following his £17million move from Union Berlin in 2022.
But the Nigerian has been plagued by injuries — the most recent of which required life-saving surgery after he suffered a serious abdominal injury in a game against Leicester in May 2025. His last Premier League goal came a year ago, in a 3-0 win at Wolves.
Igor Jesus has impressed with his work rate since signing from Botafogo for £16million last summer but he has only scored one top-flight goal in 20 appearances. He has fared better in Europe, scoring four goals in five appearances.
“Igor is working very hard. It is about finding goals and better chances. He has been our mainstay striker,” added Dyche.
Kalimuendo had been a long-term target for Frankfurt, who were interested in him as far back as January 2025, when they saw him as a potential replacement for Omar Marmoush, who had himself been a Forest target before his move to Manchester City. But Kalimuendo was too expensive for the German club and they signed Elye Wahi from Marseille instead. Wahi has not been a success there, however, and has just been loaned out to Nice.
Frankfurt did not expect Kalimuendo to be available during this window, but were delighted to finally land him. He is seen as a very important addition, because of their own dearth of forward options, with Jonathan Burkardt, their summer signing from Mainz, sidelined with injury.
Kalimuendo impressed the Frankfurt staff with his character during negotiations and, as with Forest five months ago, they regard him as somebody who has vast potential and is an investment for the future. The club are likely to make the move permanent, particularly if they qualify for Europe.
But as Forest look to deal with the ramifications of having three managers in two months, they find themselves needing to find a striker who, instead of firing them into Europe, can help them avoid the drop.