Nottingham Forest conceded 67 goals in the Premier League last season, the fifth-highest number conceded in the division. Whilst this is one fewer goal than they conceded in the 2022/23 campaign (68), it is still one of the worst defensive records in the league.
This Forest side have made 28 signings in the past two seasons, making it difficult to establish a starting back four (back five including the goalkeeper), which in turn has seen the Tricky Trees struggle defensively over the past few years.
Forest's number one goalkeeper, Matz Sels, made 16 appearances for the club after signing in January last season, keeping one clean sheet, and conceding 27 goals in 1,440 minutes played.
It's safe to say he's not quite as good as this famed stopper on Trentside…
How much Forest signed Brice Samba for
Fan favourite Brice Samba joined Forest back in 2019, signed from SM Caen for €2.10m (£1.7m). Samba had only made 49 appearances for the French side, conceding 66 goals and keeping 15 clean sheets, making a name for himself and earning his move to English shores.
The gloveman went on to make 133 appearances for Forest, keeping 45 clean sheets, conceding 124 goals, and totalling 11,995 minutes played. His best season by the Trent came in 2021/22, making 45 appearances, keeping 16 clean sheets and conceding 39 goals.
Samba made some huge saves for Forest, helping them in their Championship play-offs, even being called the "hero" after saving a penalty in the penalty shootout to beat Sheffield United, and progress to the Championship play-off final.
Brice Samba's form in 2024
Since leaving Forest for only €5.00m (£4m), joining Lens in 2022, Samba has made 84 appearances for the French outfit, keeping 32 clean sheets, conceding 83 goals and totaling 7,590 minutes played.
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Samba is now valued at €15.00m (£13m) by Transfermarkt, more than triple the value he was sold for only two years ago. Since then, Forest have signed Matz Sels, Matt Turner, and Odysseas Vlachodimos trying to replace Samba, as well as loan moves for Dean Henderson, Keylor Navas and Wayne Hennessey.
The 30-year-old shot-stopper has been so good that he was nominated for the Yashin Trophy award in 2023, coming off the back of a runner-up campaign in Ligue 1 with RC Lens, making 37 appearances, conceding 28 goals and keeping 15 clean sheets.
Samba was nominated among many of the world's best, including Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois, Barcelona's Marc Andre Ter Stegen, and Manchester City's Ederson.
Goals Against
1.19
1.46
Saves
3.07
2.17
Save %
76.1%
60.2%
Passes Attempted
29.1
22.5
Throws Attempted
4.59
3.40
Clean Sheets
0.35
0.11
Shots on Target Against
4.22
3.51
The metrics show Samba is far outperforming Sels, facing more shots on target per 90, keeping more clean sheets, conceding fewer goals and making more saves per 90, averaging 3.07 saves compared to the Forest 'keeper's 2.17 saves per 90.
Having a 15.9% higher save percentage than Sels shows the difference in their shot-stopping ability, whilst the former Forest star is also averaging more passes attempted per 90, and more throws attempted per 90, but this may come from playing in a ball-dominant side where he gets more touches.
Forest could have saved themself a lot of time and effort, as well as money, when replacing Samba, if they could have held onto him. Indeed, he has quickly proven himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, earning himself a France call-up along the way.
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