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View: Nottingham Forest should never have let Jonathan Panzo leave on loan
With 23 goals conceded so far for Nottingham Forest, their return to the Premier League is not quite going as many fans had hoped.
An influx of new signings had many believing Steve Cooper’s side could punch above their weight and breeze to Premier League survival. Despite some big-name arrivals, the Premier League has proven a hostile environment for Forest, with a return to the Championship looking likely.
Nine new defenders joined the club in the summer. You can call it bold or stupid depending on the outcome of the 2022/23 season and Forest may well have been better off looking closer to home instead of ramping up their recruitment.
Forest loaned out 21-year-old Jonathan Panzo to Coventry City in the summer to make room for some of their new arrivals and at the moment it’s looking like a daft move by the decision-makers at the City Ground.
The youngster has been one of a few positives for the Sky Blues in what has been a miserable start to the season for Mark Robins’ side. Panzo has adapted to life in the Championship with ease, with the physical nature of the league not phasing the young defender.
Panzo averages 8.06 duels per 90 minutes (Wyscout) which puts him in the top 20 players in the whole of the Championship and with a 66 per cent success rate he’s proving a tough nut to crack for opposition attackers.
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In Coventry’s most recent fixture against Cardiff, the youngster managed to win all of his defensive duels as the Sky Blues secured a much-needed away win.
The youngster has also shown competency on the ball with an 85 per cent pass accuracy so far in Coventry’s Championship campaign.
Nottingham Forest certainly have a player on their books and it seems he was dramatically overlooked in the summer after his January arrival from Dijon. If Forest do go down, they have an excellent young defender on their books to propel them back into the Premier League.
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