And so Forest have released their retained list for the 2026-27 Premier League season. First things first - it’s worth saying that again: the 2026-27 Premier League season. We took that for granted almost ten months ago. To have a fifth season competing in the top flight is an outstanding achievement for a club of our size.
There were no great surprises in the retained list. It will be sad to see Willy Bolly leave the club but he has served his purpose. He wasn’t even a bit-part player last season. For a brief spell during the Steve Cooper years he was an unlikely hero, always relied upon to be a calming figure in defence. He was also a great dug-out cheerleader.
No surprises in seeing Angus Gunn depart Forest. It was still a really odd signing this time last year. He was clearly misled in thinking he will be challenging for the goalkeeper’s number one jersey. We saw less than 45 minutes of him playing first-team action.
I’m a little sad to see Stefan Ortega also not be retained. I thought he was magnificent as a Europa League starter. Sadly not having European football next season means it will be a struggle for him to get any game time.
I remember him saying some very fine things about the club and its history after only being around for a few weeks. If you know your history, etc.
I’d forgotten all about Lorenzo Lucca, or Pizza Crouch as he was affectionately known. He wasn’t affectionately known for being a great player. He looked completely out of sorts right from the start. Clearly he was a Dyche signing who never really fitted in once we gambled with Pereira. Thank Gawd we didn’t trigger his 30 million pound or so release clause after he had played x number of minutes.
Looking a little further down the list and some other names that you tend to forget about are still there as retained. David Carmo and Omar Richards have yet to see any first-team action for Forest. It feels like they have been around since the start of the Premier League comeback era, except for the loan periods.
Jota Silva has also been retained. I would love to see him fight for a Forest place once again. He was an absolute dynamite bulldog running around, without really doing much. He’s a complete chaos type of player.
Taiwo has also been retained. That’s an interesting one. I suspect if someone comes in with a cheeky 10 million pounds for a Championship club or a newly promoted Premier League side, then he will be allowed to move on.
Don’t read anything into the fact that Elliot Anderson is still listed as a retained player. I expect to refresh the Forest website and that to change within the next 48 hours.
This all gives me some excitement ahead of the new season. The next step is fixture release day. BALLS to your stupid World Cup.