Why are Forest so good this season – and can it last?

Are Nottingham Forest showing signs of ‘doing a Leicester 2016’?

Hang on, hear us out first…

The broad picture is this:

Forest’s search for a new striker to support and challenge Wood ultimately failed as Eddie Nketiah joined Crystal Palace from Arsenal and Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez remained at De Kuip.

“In the transfer window we were looking for many options that could help us. The main thing was we looked for someone who could improve us and someone who wanted to be with us. These two things are very important,” said Nuno, tellingly, in September.

It looked like they would be short up front but Wood’s electric start has neutralised any fears.

Nuno has refused to tread softly with Wood, especially after international duty, saying the striker is a “competitor” and will always be ready.

While Wood has scored the goals, the management will always highlight that their foundations start in defence.

Matz Sels – having become the undisputed number one – has kept the joint-most clean sheets, along with Manchester United’s Andre Onana and Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, in the Premier League this season.

The arrival of Nikola Milenkovic from Fiorentina – for a little less than the reported £12m – has already looked a bargain and he has formed an impressive partnership with Brazilian Murillo at the back.

It is too simplistic to say the big man at the back and the big man at the front have Forest ticking – but it is definitely working.

While it looks like Forest have evolved quickly from the side which finished 17th last season, following a four-point deduction, seven of the players from Saturday’s 3-0 win over West Ham started the final day victory at Burnley last term.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo had the luxury of a pre-season this year, and while the club added just six senior signings in the summer, defender Milenkovic and midfielder Elliot Anderson instantly upped the first-team quality.

Indeed, that relatively calm window was a change from the summer of 2022 when Forest signed a then-record 22 players following promotion.

It has been evolution, not revolution, at the City Ground but while there have been tweaks in the last 11 months since Nuno replaced Steve Cooper, they have moved on quickly from two years ago.

In Forest’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last month, with Morgan Gibbs-White suspended, just one player signed during that 2022 spending spree started – and that was goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who was playing for the opposition.

There was an agreement at the start of the season the club needed a campaign of anonymity, a mid-table finish to avoid the spotlight following two seasons of struggle, controversy and chaos.

A points deduction in March, following a profit and sustainability breach, came before a controversial social media post about VAR Stuart Attwell a month later which ultimately saw the club fined £750,000 this season.

With owner Evangelos Marinakis currently midway through a five-game for spitting towards officials – he lost his appeal on Monday – Forest have snubbed the quiet life again. But it is on the pitch where they are making the most noise this season.

Nuno returned to the Premier League after a spell in Saudi Arabia and there were a few doubters when he replaced Steve Cooper in December last year.

He had won the Saudi Pro League and the Super Cup with Al-Ittihad but after a short and difficult time at Tottenham, Forest fans would have been forgiven for being underwhelmed at his appointment.

His four-year spell at Wolves ended as things went stale at Molineux and the squad was unable to maintain their spectacular rise from the Championship to the Europa League quarter-finals.

But before the decline, he built a squad – with the help of agent Jorge Mendes – which included young talent like Ruben Neves combined with the experience of Joao Moutinho.

He is slowly doing the same at the City Ground with the arrival of six senior players, including defender Milenkovic who has helped Forest tighten up at the back and concede just seven goals so far. Only Liverpool – six – have shipped less.

Those who have covered Nuno at either Wolves, Spurs or now Forest know he is not the most expressive in news conferences.

He is a meticulous planner of what happens on the pitch which, over the course of a year, has steadily improved Forest’s prospects, although he has still benefited from the foundations predecessor Cooper laid.

Cooper’s influence and relationship was crucial to signing Gibbs-White – with whom he won the Under-17 World Cup while England youth manager – while the now-Leicester boss brought Wood to the club and kept them in the Premier League.

Nuno has built on that success, although he has let his emotions get the better of him on the touchline – despite promising to rein in the criticism of officials – and in August he was fined £40,000 and given a one-game suspended ban after his comments following the 2-0 defeat at Everton last season.

That suspension was activated when he was dismissed for contesting Gibbs-White’s red card in the draw at Brighton in September, meaning he has watched Forest’s past three games from the stands.

Despite Nuno and owner Marinakis’ disciplinary issues, Forest are on a three-game winning run which has propelled them to third.

Trips to Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United come swiftly after the international break, which starts after Sunday’s league visit of Newcastle, while they also host Aston Villa and Tottenham before the end of the year.

Those who are sceptical of their chances will point to the fact that five of their 10 games so far have come against the bottom seven, while their past three games have been against Crystal Palace, Leicester and West Ham, none of whom have started the season well.

But Forest have gone to Anfield to inflict leaders Liverpool’s only defeat this season and have also claimed draws at Chelsea and Brighton.

Sunday’s game against Newcastle – who won at the City Ground in the Carabao Cup in August – starts a spell which will test Forest’s staying power and by Christmas it will be clear whether they can sustain their form.