# 2020–21 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

The 2020–21 Nottingham Forest Football Club season was the club's 155th year since their formation and the club's 13th consecutive season in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. In addition to the EFL Championship, they played in two domestic cup competitions; they were eliminated in the fourth round of the FA Cup and the first round of the EFL Cup.

## Players

    As of 1 February 2021
| Squad no. | Name | Date of birth (age) | Previous club | Joined first team | Contract ends |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 12 | Jordan Smith | (1994-12-08) 8 December 1994 (age 30) | Forest Academy | 2016 | 2022 |
| 30 | Brice Samba | (1994-04-25) 25 April 1994 (age 30) | Caen | 2019 | 2023 |
| 39 | Abdoulaye Diallo | (1992-03-30) 30 March 1992 (age 32) | Gençlerbirliği | 2020 | 2021 |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Cyrus Christie | (1992-09-30) 30 September 1992 (age 32) | Fulham | 2020 | 2021 |
| 3 | Tobias Figueiredo | (1994-02-02) 2 February 1994 (age 31) | Sporting | 2018 | 2022 |
| 4 | Joe Worrall | (1997-01-10) 10 January 1997 (age 28) | Forest Academy | 2016 | 2024 |
| 5 | Yuri Ribeiro | (1997-01-24) 24 January 1997 (age 28) | Benfica | 2019 | 2021 |
| 6 | Loïc Mbe Soh | (2001-06-13) 13 June 2001 (age 23) | Paris Saint-Germain | 2020 | 2024 |
| 13 | Gaëtan Bong | (1988-04-25) 25 April 1988 (age 36) | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2020 | 2022 |
| 16 | Carl Jenkinson | (1992-02-08) 8 February 1992 (age 33) | Arsenal | 2019 | 2022 |
| 20 | Michael Dawson | (1983-11-18) 18 November 1983 (age 41) | Hull City | 2018 | 2021 |
| 24 | Tyler Blackett | (1994-04-02) 2 April 1994 (age 30) | Reading | 2020 | 2022 |
| 26 | Scott McKenna | (1996-11-12) 12 November 1996 (age 28) | Aberdeen | 2020 | 2024 |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 8 | Jack Colback | (1989-10-24) 24 October 1989 (age 35) | Newcastle United | 2020 | 2023 |
| 11 | Sammy Ameobi | (1992-05-01) 1 May 1992 (age 32) | Bolton Wanderers | 2019 | 2021 |
| 14 | Fouad Bachirou | (1990-04-15) 15 April 1990 (age 34) | Malmö FF | 2020 | 2022 |
| 15 | Luke Freeman | (1992-03-22) 22 March 1992 (age 32) | Sheffield United | 2020 | 2021 |
| 18 | Cafú | (1993-02-26) 26 February 1993 (age 31) | Olympiacos | 2020 | 2023 |
| 21 | Samba Sow | (1989-04-29) 29 April 1989 (age 35) | Dynamo Moscow | 2019 | 2021 |
| 22 | Ryan Yates | (1997-11-21) 21 November 1997 (age 27) | Forest Academy | 2016 | 2023 |
| 27 | Filip Krovinović | (1995-08-29) 29 August 1995 (age 29) | Benfica | 2021 | 2021 |
| 28 | Anthony Knockaert | (1991-11-20) 20 November 1991 (age 33) | Fulham | 2020 | 2021 |
| 31 | Harry Arter | (1989-12-28) 28 December 1989 (age 35) | Bournemouth | 2020 | 2023 |
| 37 | James Garner | (2001-03-13) 13 March 2001 (age 23) | Manchester United | 2021 | 2021 |
| Forwards |||||||
| 7 | Lewis Grabban | (1988-01-12) 12 January 1988 (age 37) | Bournemouth | 2018 | 2022 |
| 17 | Alex Mighten | (2002-04-11) 11 April 2002 (age 22) | Forest Academy | 2020 | 2025 |
| 23 | Joe Lolley | (1992-08-25) 25 August 1992 (age 32) | Huddersfield Town | 2018 | 2023 |
| 25 | Glenn Murray | (1983-09-25) 25 September 1983 (age 41) | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2021 | 2021 |
| 33 | Lyle Taylor | (1990-03-29) 29 March 1990 (age 34) | Charlton Athletic | 2020 | 2023 |

### New contracts

| Date | Position | Player | Old contract end | New contract end |
| 24 August 2020 | FW | Alex Mighten | 2022 | 2025 |
| 2 September 2020 | GK | Jordan Smith | 2020 | 2022 |
| 1 October 2020 | DF | Jordan Gabriel | 2022 | 2024 |
| 8 December 2020 | FW | Will Swan | | 2024 |
| 15 December 2020 | FW | Dale Taylor | | |
| 27 February 2021 | FW | Alex Gibson-Hammond | | |
| 28 February 2021 | MF | Jamie McDonnell | | |
| 12 March 2021 | GK | George Shelvey | | |
| 30 March 2021 | MF | Oli Hammond | | |
| 24 May 2021 | DF | James Clarridge | | |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee | Team |
| 22 July 2020 | MF | Jamie McDonnell | Glentoran | Undisclosed | Under-18s |
| 3 August 2020 | FW | Dale Taylor | Linfield | Undisclosed | Under-18s |
| 11 August 2020 | MF | Jack Colback | Newcastle United | Free | First team |
| 14 August 2020 | MF | Alexandros Sarantis | AEK Athens | Undisclosed | Under-18s |
| 15 August 2020 | DF | Tyler Blackett | Reading | Free | First team |
| 15 August 2020 | FW | Lyle Taylor | Charlton Athletic | Free | First team |
| 26 August 2020 | MF | Fouad Bachirou | Malmö FF | Undisclosed | First team |
| 4 September 2020 | FW | Miguel Ángel Guerrero | Olympiacos | Undisclosed | First team |
| 11 September 2020 | DF | Loïc Mbe Soh | Paris Saint-Germain | Undisclosed | First team |
| 14 September 2020 | GK | Abdoulaye Diallo | Gençlerbirliği | Free | First team |
| 15 September 2020 | MF | Ateef Konaté | Le Havre | Undisclosed | Under-23s |
| 22 September 2020 | MF | Harry Arter | Bournemouth | Undisclosed | First team |
| 23 September 2020 | DF | Scott McKenna | Aberdeen | Undisclosed | First team |
| 25 September 2020 | DF | Nicholas Ioannou | APOEL | Undisclosed | First team |
| 1 November 2020 | DF | Baba Fernandes | Vitória de Setúbal | Free | Under-23s |
| 7 January 2021 | MF | Marcelo Saraiva | Internacional | Free | Under-23s |
| 1 February 2021 | FW | Glenn Murray | Brighton & Hove Albion | Free | First team |
| 2 February 2021 | MF | Cafú | Olympiacos | Undisclosed | First team |

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee | Team |
| 20 June 2020 | DF | Max Ram | Stratford Town | Released | Under-18s |
| 23 June 2020 | MF | Liam Bridcutt | Lincoln City | Released | First team |
| 23 June 2020 | MF | Toby Edser | Aldershot Town | Released | Under-23s |
| 23 June 2020 | DF | Owen Gallacher | Burton Albion | Released | Under-23s |
| 23 June 2020 | FW | Kieran Hayes | Truro City | Released | Under-23s |
| 23 June 2020 | FW | Victor Sodeinde | Hereford | Released | Under-23s |
| 23 June 2020 | GK | Luke Steele | Stamford | Released | First team |
| 23 June 2020 | DF | Ethan Stewart | Nuneaton Borough | Released | Under-23s |
| 23 June 2020 | MF | Louis Walsh | Southend United | Released | Under-23s |
| 23 June 2020 | MF | Ben Watson | Charlton Athletic | Released | First team |
| 28 August 2020 | FW | Tyler Walker | Coventry City | Undisclosed | First team |
| 3 September 2020 | DF | Matty Cash | Aston Villa | £14,000,000 | First team |
| 4 September 2020 | GK | Costel Pantilimon | Denizlispor | Mutual consent | First team |
| 2 October 2020 | MF | Albert Adomah | Queens Park Rangers | Mutual consent | First team |
| 3 October 2020 | MF | Tiago Silva | Olympiacos | Undisclosed | First team |
| 5 October 2020 | DF | Yohan Benalouane | Aris | Mutual consent | First team |
| 11 January 2021 | MF | Jake Taylor | Port Vale | Undisclosed | Under-23s |
| 11 January 2021 | DF | Tendayi Darikwa | Wigan Athletic | Undisclosed | First team |
| 22 January 2021 | FW | Zach Clough | Wigan Athletic | Free | First team |
| 1 February 2021 | FW | Miguel Ángel Guerrero | Rayo Vallecano | Undisclosed | First team |
| 6 May 2021 | MF | Marcus McGuane | Oxford United | Undisclosed | Under-23s |
* ↑ Fee could rise to £16,000,000 if all clauses and performance-related bonuses are met.

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Loan ends | Team |
| 28 August 2020 | MF | Luke Freeman | Sheffield United | End of season | First team |
| 18 September 2020 | DF | Cyrus Christie | Fulham | End of season | First team |
| 5 October 2020 | MF | Cafú | Olympiacos | 2 February 2021 | First team |
| 16 October 2020 | MF | Anthony Knockaert | Fulham | End of season | First team |
| 22 January 2021 | MF | Filip Krovinović | Benfica | End of season | First team |
| 30 January 2021 | MF | James Garner | Manchester United | End of season | First team |

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Loan ends | Team |
| 15 August 2020 | MF | Marcus McGuane | Oxford United | 6 May 2021 | Under-23s |
| 3 September 2020 | DF | Danny Preston | Grimsby Town | 2 February 2021 | Under-23s |
| 23 September 2020 | DF | Jayden Richardson | Forest Green Rovers | End of season | Under-23s |
| 25 September 2020 | MF | Brennan Johnson | Lincoln City | End of season | First team |
| 29 September 2020 | MF | João Carvalho | Almería | End of season | First team |
| 1 October 2020 | DF | Jordan Gabriel | Blackpool | End of season | First team |
| 1 October 2020 | MF | Jake Taylor | Scunthorpe United | 5 January 2021 | Under-23s |
| 2 October 2020 | MF | Tyrese Fornah | Plymouth Argyle | End of season | Under-23s |
| 5 October 2020 | FW | Nuno da Costa | Royal Excel Mouscron | End of season | First team |
| 16 October 2020 | FW | Virgil Gomis | Grimsby Town | 5 January 2021 | Under-23s |
| 8 January 2021 | DF | Nicholas Ioannou | Aris | End of season | First team |
| 16 January 2021 | GK | Jordan Wright | Alloa Athletic | End of season | Under-23s |
| 1 February 2021 | FW | Will Swan | Port Vale | End of season | First team |
| 19 March 2021 | DF | Riley Harbottle | Wealdstone | April 2021 | Under-23s |
| 10 April 2021 | GK | George Shelvey | Wealdstone | End of season | Under-23s |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| EFL Championship | 12 September 2020 | 8 May 2021 | Matchday 1 | 17th | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 026.09 |
| FA Cup | 9 January 2021 | 23 January 2021 | Third round | Fourth round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 050.00 |
| EFL Cup | 5 September 2020 | 5 September 2020 | First round | First round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 000.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 49 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 026.53 |
Last updated: 8 May 2021 Source: Competitions

### EFL Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 14 | Stoke City | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 60 |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 65 | 54 | +11 | 57 |
| 16 | Coventry City | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 49 | 61 | −12 | 55 |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 52 |
| 18 | Birmingham City | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 37 | 61 | −24 | 52 |
| 19 | Bristol City | 46 | 15 | 6 | 25 | 46 | 68 | −22 | 51 |
| 20 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 50 | 71 | −21 | 49 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 8 May 2021. Source:

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | L | L | W | D | D | D | L | W | W | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | W | D | D | D | W | W | L | D | W | W | D | L | W | W | D | L | L | D | L | D | W | W | D | L | D | D | D | L |
| Position | 23 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 |

#### Matches

The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 21 August.

### FA Cup

The third round draw was made on 30 November, with Premier League and EFL Championship clubs all entering the competition. The draw for the fourth and fifth round were made on 11 January, conducted by Peter Crouch.

### EFL Cup

The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson.

## Statistics
### Goals and appearances

    As of match played 8 May 2021
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | EFL Championship | EFL Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 2 | DF | IRL | Cyrus Christie | 44 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | POR | Tobias Figueiredo | 34 | 0 | 31+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Joe Worrall | 33 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | POR | Yuri Ribeiro | 26 | 1 | 24+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | FRA | Loïc Mbe Soh | 8 | 1 | 5+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Lewis Grabban | 29 | 6 | 24+4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Jack Colback | 17 | 0 | 13+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | CPV | Nuno da Costa | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | POR | João Carvalho | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Sammy Ameobi | 34 | 3 | 27+5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | ENG | Jordan Smith | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | CMR | Gaetan Bong | 12 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | COM | Fouad Bachirou | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Luke Freeman | 25 | 1 | 16+7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Carl Jenkinson | 5 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Alex Mighten | 27 | 3 | 13+11 | 3 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | POR | Cafú | 33 | 0 | 26+5 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ESP | Miguel Ángel Guerrero | 11 | 0 | 3+6 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Michael Dawson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | MLI | Samba Sow | 16 | 0 | 12+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Ryan Yates | 36 | 2 | 31+3 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Joe Lolley | 30 | 1 | 16+12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Tyler Blackett | 16 | 0 | 9+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Glenn Murray | 16 | 2 | 8+8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | SCO | Scott McKenna | 25 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ZIM | Tendayi Darikwa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | CRO | Filip Krovinović | 19 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | FRA | Anthony Knockaert | 35 | 3 | 24+10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | CGO | Brice Samba | 46 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | EIR | Harry Arter | 14 | 0 | 8+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | MSR | Lyle Taylor | 42 | 5 | 15+24 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | ENG | James Garner | 20 | 4 | 19+1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | GK | SEN | Abdoulaye Diallo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | MF | WAL | Brennan Johnson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | CYP | Nicholas Ioannou | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | DF | ENG | Jordan Gabriel | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 48 | FW | ENG | Will Swan | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* ↑ Players whose names are in italics spent time on loan at other clubs this season.
* ↑ Players whose names appear in bold left Nottingham Forest on a permanent basis mid-season.