Inside story of Nottingham Forest's summer: How Oliver Glasner won over Morgan Gibbs-White, new bonds formed in Portugal, a training ground facelift, meditation guru and the transfers they still expect to complete

It was after Nottingham Forest had seen their Europa League dreams shattered by Aston Villa that senior figures first had doubts about Vitor Pereira.

As the club’s fourth permanent manager that season, the Portuguese had done a very solid job. He had calmed a mutinous squad, guided them to Premier League safety and come within a whisker of a European final.

While that 4-0 semi-final defeat at Villa Park on May 7 was not enough to seal Pereira’s fate, it made Forest step back and assess their options. That pause for thought inevitably led them to Oliver Glasner, who has long had a good relationship with Forest transfer chief George Syrianos.

Just as it was 12 months ago, Forest’s summer has been heavily influenced by three elements: owner Evangelos Marinakis, star man Morgan Gibbs-White and Crystal Palace.

There has been bad blood between Palace and Forest for a year and now it’s even more bitter. Glasner won three trophies at Palace but faces a hot reception when he returns to Selhurst Park on October 10. And just for good measure, Marinakis is suing Palace for a banner unveiled at their stadium 12 months ago, featuring Marinakis and – you guessed it – Gibbs-White.

Life is never dull at Forest, and this summer has been typically eventful.

Nottingham Forest brought in Oliver Glasner at the start of the summer after deciding to move on from Vitor Pereira

As ever, Forest’s summer has been heavily influenced by owner Evangelos Marinakis

Keeping the main man happy

Last summer, Gibbs-White nearly joined Tottenham, who thought they had activated a £60million release clause in his contract. But Marinakis persuaded Gibbs-White to stay and sign a new deal that made him the highest-paid player in the history of the club.

It was an inspired move as Gibbs-White had the season of his life and effectively saved Forest from relegation – but the 26-year-old can be an exacting character and needs to be managed skilfully. At times, staff can feel like they are treading on eggshells around him.

A year ago, Gibbs-White saw Anthony Elanga join Newcastle for £55million, while Gibbs-White stayed put. This time it was the turn of Elliot Anderson, sold to Manchester City for £116million.

Like Gibbs-White had been for most of his career, Anderson is represented by the powerful CAA Stellar group. Since Anderson’s move, Gibbs-White has switched agency and is now one of the top clients of German-based ROOF. The exact circumstances behind the shift are unclear but Gibbs-White and those close to him may have been wondering why Anderson had earned a big transfer and he had not.

Though they play in different roles, the raw numbers are still compelling: Gibbs-White had 25 goal involvements last season to Anderson’s nine.

Daily Mail Sport understands Chelsea were prepared to move for Gibbs-White earlier in the summer but if the England international is to leave Forest, he wants Champions League football. He is a boyhood Manchester United fan and also attracted strong interest from Manchester City a year ago and in January.

Given ROOF’s strong relationship with Bayern Munich, that route cannot be ruled out either – although probably not for 12 months.

For now, Gibbs-White stays, but where is his head at? Steve Cooper, Nuno Espirito Santo and Pereira usually found a way to make him tick but with Sean Dyche, it simply never worked. Glasner will have taken soundings about Gibbs-White and has had multiple conversations with him. Assuming Gibbs-White stays, that relationship holds the key to Forest’s season.

Star man Morgan Gibbs-White was encouraged to see Glasner at work during last month’s training camp in Portugal and is feeling excited about his Forest career again

Gibbs-White had 25 goal involvements last season compared to nine from Elliot Anderson (above, centre), who nevertheless earned a big-money move to Manchester City

The good news is that Gibbs-White was apparently hugely encouraged to see Glasner at work during last month’s training camp in Portugal and is feeling excited about his Forest career again. Nonetheless, Forest fans will be relieved if they wake up on September 3 and Gibbs-White is still their No 10.

There may be no direct replacement for Anderson in Glasner’s preferred 3-4-2-1 system, and the sale of the England midfielder was a triumph for Marinakis. The Forest owner took personal charge of the £116million deal to the extent that even senior club staff were sometimes in the dark about how it was progressing.

Before the window closes, expect at least one forward to arrive as well as another central midfielder and a right wing-back. However, Forest are determined not to overpay, hence the drawn-out negotiations for defender Ousmane Diomande.

Diomande deal key

When Glasner was at Palace, he made Diomande his No 1 defensive target and was thought to have been extremely frustrated when the deal did not materialise.

Arriving at the City Ground, the Austrian was just as adamant he wanted the Ivory Coast international, yet for a time, it seemed he might be denied again. Tired of the endless back-and-forth negotiations over the final details, Sporting briefly considered offering Diomande to rival clubs. If he had moved elsewhere, Glasner would have been furious.

In the end, Forest decided a few million here or there was not worth arguing about if it meant keeping their new boss happy and paid £34million for the 22-year-old's services. Glasner showed his combustible nature in his public fall-outs with the Palace hierarchy last season and had Forest missed out on Diomande, the relationship may have started on the wrong foot.

Forest want Glasner to be their answer to Unai Emery. The Spaniard took over Villa when they were on the edge of the relegation zone and in less than four years he has made them a European force. Marinakis believes Glasner to be in the same bracket and rather than having dispensable managers, as he has during Forest’s four-year stay in the top flight, he intends to put him at the heart of the project.

Forest have signed Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande for £34m from Sporting Lisbon

Glasner was determined to make the transfer happen having failed to sign Diomande when he was Crystal Palace boss

Where do the club stand?

Marinakis’ grand project is the redevelopment of the City Ground, where the capacity is about 30,000. The owner would like to take it beyond 50,000 and submitted a planning application last January.

In the shorter term, Forest want to add 5,000 seats by building a larger Peter Taylor Stand. They have started buying properties at the corner of the Peter Taylor and John Robertson Stands in preparation for this.

Though not quite on the same scale, Forest have been working through the summer to update several of the club’s hospitality suites at the City Ground.

The most significant changes have been happening at the club’s training ground on the outskirts of the city. Forest have brought in Carina Hanson-Evans as recovery specialist – the first hire of this nature in the club’s history – who will work with the players on breathing techniques, meditation and pilates.

Forest want to add 5,000 seats by building a larger Peter Taylor Stand (bottom, left)

The players’ recreational area at the training ground has almost doubled in size to try to encourage the squad to spend more time together after training sessions. This worked superbly in the 2024-25 season, when Forest missed out by a whisker on Champions League qualification under Nuno Espirito Santo, and Glasner is keen to restore that spirit. In that context, the pre-season camp in Portugal is said to have been very encouraging.

Forest have also upgraded the facilities for their Under-21 and B teams to bring them in line with first-team standards and have started building a swimming pool at their base to help player recovery.

That will not be ready for some time. Under Marinakis and Glasner, Forest are confident they can make a splash immediately.