Crossley: Reds are established in the Premier League after a fine campaign

INVESTMENT in the squad by owner Evangelos Marinakis is helping Nottingham Forest to become an established Premier League club, according to Mark Crossley.

- By SARAH CLAPSON

The Reds are heading into their fourth consecutive season in the top flight on the back of winning promotion in 2022.

After successive relegation fights, last term saw them make huge strides under head coach Nuno Espirito Santo.

Champions League qualification appeared to be on the cards for much of the campaign, only for a late dip in form to leave Forest having to settle for a Conference League spot.

Although there was some disappointment about how the season ended, it still represents a superb achievement by the club to be back in Europe for the first time in three decades.

Signings such as Nikola Milenkovic and Elliot Anderson made a big difference but a few of the old guard really caught the eye of former Reds goalkeeper Crossley, who has been impressed by his old club’s progress.

"I think they are becoming an established Premier League team, looking at them this season, which was the aim," he told The Overlap podcast.

"They had two seasons where it looked like they were definitely getting relegated.

"Surviving late on. Beating Arsenal 1-0 was massive, to stay up in their first year.

"The owner has put his money where his mouth is and has signed players. You can’t knock that.