Nottingham Forest are in real trouble this season, with the Reds currently sitting three points above the relegation zone with nine games remaining in the Premier League.
The club are already on the cusp of potential relegation, but they could find themselves in yet more trouble on Monday, with the Reds set to find out the verdict of the PSR case.
Evangelos Marinakis invested over £200m since promotion, with the signings a huge factor in the club's breach of the Premier League's rules.
Players such as Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi joined Forest for then-club record fees as the Reds smashed their transfer record after promotion.
Despite their big spending, the club may have missed a trick by not signing a loanee who excelled at the club during the promotion campaign in 2021/22.
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ByStephan GeorgiouApr 16, 2024 James Garner's stats at Nottingham Forest
After joining the club on loan for the 2020/21 campaign, Forest re-signed midfielder James Garner for the promotion campaign, with the Manchester United loanee impressing under Steve Cooper in the Championship.
During the 2021/22 season, Garner featured 41 times for the Reds scoring four times with eight assists – including a brilliant strike against Blackburn Rovers.
The midfielder also provided the cross for Levi Colwill's own goal in the Championship play-off final – a decisive strike that ended the club's 23-year exile from England's top flight.
Forest were reportedly interested in making the youngster's loan deal permanent in the summer of 2022 but were priced out of a deal for the United midfielder, with the Reds moving on to signing different targets such as Lewis O'Brien and Orel Mangala.
Garner eventually joined fellow Premier League side Everton for a deal in the region of £9m rising to £15m with add-ons, with the Reds making a big mistake in not pushing harder to bring the youngster back to the City Ground.
How James Garner compares to Ibrahim Sangare
Current Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo is yet to find a settled midfield, with the likes of Ryan Yates, Danilo, Nicolas Dominguez and Ibrahim Sangare often rotating the two deep-lying roles.
Sangare cost the Reds £32m in the summer, with the Forest faithful unhappy with the Ivorian's impact at the club since his arrival.
Given Garner's fee, which was nearly four times less than Sangare's, the Reds would have been better off signing the Englishman with the former Forest loanee ahead of Sangare in multiple key areas this season.
Even though the two are completely different types of midfielders, Garner's box-to-box playstyle would be more beneficial to Nuno, with the former Wolves boss consistently operating with two players at the base of the Reds midfield.
Undoubtedly, the former Reds loanee is better in possession than Sangare, with the now 23-year-old averaging more than double the Ivorian when it comes to shot-creating actions and progressive carries per game.
Interceptions
1.6
1.1
Progressive Carries
1
0.5
Shot Creating Actions
3.3
1.6
Passes Attempted
38
35
However, he also beats the former PSV man out of possession especially for interceptions per 90, with his tally of 1.6 ahead of Sangare's 1.1 per game.
It's still relatively early days for the 26-year-old at the City Ground, but so far he's failed to live up to expectations, with the club potentially making a big loss on the midfielder should they suffer relegation this summer.