Odysseas Vlachodimos: Nottingham Forest Secures Premier League Dream with Sensational Goalkeeper Signing

Nottingham Forest had shown significant restraint in the latest transfer window leading up to the summer of 2022. Despite Steve Cooper's impressive feat of keeping the team in the Premier League and successfully incorporating 30 new signings in the previous season, only three players were brought in before the commencement of the 2023/24 campaign.

But once the season started, Forest - led by Evangelos Marinakis, their enigmatic owner - couldn't help themselves. The chequebook came back out.

Nottingham Forest

Burnley

Monday 18th September 6:30pm

Kick off 7:45pm

Three new signings arrived between the start of the season and Deadline Day - but Forest were far from finished.

In the final 24 hours of the window, the East Midlanders made headlines as they signed seven players. The most attention-grabbing acquisition was Ibrahim Sangare from PSV, for a whopping £30 million.

After everything was finalized, Marinakis addressed Nottingham Forest supporters in an open letter, declaring, "Our club's vision is clear and steadfast. Our aim is to restore Nottingham Forest as a dominant presence in English football."

The £7.7m signing of goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos from Benfica went unnoticed due to the owner's confident statements and the overwhelming activity surrounding it. However, a more thorough examination of the 29-year-old's career indicates that Nottingham Forest may have successfully made a significant acquisition, especially considering that Chelsea paid £25m for Robert Sanchez and Arsenal agreed to a future fee of £27m for David Raya in the same transfer window.

Vlachodimos' position as a crucial player in Benfica's starting lineup remained undisputed until the closing stages of the transfer window. After joining the Portuguese club from Panathinaikos in 2018, the Greek international quickly cemented himself as their top choice, amassing 225 appearances and playing a pivotal role in securing the Portuguese title in both 2019 and 2023.

Vlachodimos has consistently played the full duration in Lisbon's journey to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the past two years, triumphing over Barcelona, Ajax, and Juventus.

Additionally, the goalkeeper has achieved success at the international level, being a member of the Germany squad that emerged victorious in the U21 Euros in 2017 before subsequently representing Greece.

After signing a new contract with Benfica in March, Vlachodimos appeared to be on track for further advancement at the Estadio da Luz. However, this progress was abruptly halted when Benfica suffered an unexpected 3-2 loss against Boavista on the season's opening weekend. The coach, Roger Schmidt, publicly criticized his goalkeeper, putting a dent in Vlachodimos' journey.

Vlachodimos, who had conceded goals from a strong close-range strike, a penalty, and a one-on-one situation, confronted Schmidt regarding his remarks, resulting in a rapid deterioration of their relationship.

Following only one match in the new season, Samuel Soares, a 21-year-old academy product, was appointed as Schmidt's top choice goalkeeper, leading Vlachodimos to seek a new team.

Forest, not Manchester United, finalized the deal with Marinakis, the Greek shipping magnate who also owns Olympiacos. It is reported that the Greece No 1, who has long aspired to play in the Premier League, made the move. However, it is still uncertain whether Vlachodimos will be Forest's first-choice goalkeeper. Similar to last season, when Cooper had the option of selecting either Keylor Navas or Dean Henderson at different times, the manager has a strong pool of goalkeepers to choose from.

Matt Turner arrived from Arsenal last month and has started all four of their Premier League games this season, including keeping a clean sheet in the 1-0 win at Chelsea.

In those four games, Turner has encountered an xGOT total of 7.7 but has only let in six goals - indicating that he has conceded 1.7 goals less than expected. Cooper now faces a choice between Turner, with his impressive performance, and Vlachodimos, who has recently joined the team. This decision will be crucial for the Premier League restart after the international break, beginning with the match against Burnley on Monday, which will be broadcasted live on We.

But it's a good headache for the manager to have as he looks to fulfil Marinakis' wish to return Forest to the top of the tree.