MusaNottingham Forest had a busy summer window, and plenty of new faces are at the City Ground, but one of those new signings should be concerned about his role this season.
Brazilians Igor Jesus and Douglas Luiz have already looked to be excellent business for the club during the summer.
Meanwhile, Dilane Bakwa and Dan Ndoye have shown promise in the early parts of the season.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has started the last four games for Ange Postecoglou, with the Australian manager clearly seeing him as an important player, and James McAtee has also been given opportunities to start.
However, there is one player that seems to be struggling to impress, and that is shown by both his lack of starts and minutes.
Arnaud Kalimuendo has had little to no impact for Nottingham Forest so far
Arnaud Kalimuendo arrived with a lot of hype after Nottingham Forest sealed a £26 million deal for him.
The French striker scored 17 goals in Ligue 1 last season and offers the Tricky Trees a different option compared to Chris Wood.
However, the former Rennes man has yet to start a game under both Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou.
Additionally, with Nottingham Forest chasing a goal against Sunderland, the forward was only brought on in the 90th minute and had no time to change the game.
It is unclear why the player does not seem to be trusted, and his minimal minutes this season have left him having zero impact so far. But the one thing that is clear is that he is the third choice for the number nine role.
Due to his attributes, it looked almost assured that Kalimuendo would be the main man to lead Ange’s attack, but so far, this has been far from the case.
At the moment, it is becoming increasingly hard to see how he can enter the plans of the Australian due to the form of those in his position.
Difficult to see how Arnaud Kalimuendo pushes into starting XI
Chris Wood has struggled to impress under Postecoglou, but the New Zealander has earned enough favour to still remain in his immediate plans.
However, Wood’s latest appearance has put that thought into question.
On the other hand, Igor Jesus is in red-hot form, having scored four goals in his last two starts for Nottingham Forest, including in the Europa League.
It seems hard to see where Kalimuendo can fit in, but perhaps the struggling form of Wood can offer a pathway in.
The 23-year-old will have an opportunity at some point but when that arrives is not clear. When given a chance, he’ll need to take it, or else he is in danger of remaining as Postecoglou’s third-choice striker.
This is not an ideal scenario for any young forward.
Musa
Kwaghterna Garshagu