FOREST JOKERS NOW TRUMPS IN PREMIER PACK

PUNDIT Peter Crouch has put Nottingham Forest's transformation from "laughing stock" to Champions League place contenders down to a strong team spirit.

- SARAH CLAPSON

With nine games of the Premier League season left, Forest are firmly in the mix for European qualification.

They are third in the table, six points above fifth placed Manchester City and seven ahead of Newcastle United and Brighton.

It is an incredible turnaround given Forest spent their first two campaigns back in the top flight battling relegation.

It is also not so long ago the club were raising eyebrows for the number of signings they made, with 29 players added in the first two transfer windows after promotion in 2022.

"They were almost a laughing stock," Crouch (above) told TNT Sports' The Breakdown: Premier League Special.