Ever since the heroics of Brice Samba during Nottingham Forest’s promotion-winning journey, the Tricky Trees have failed to recruit a permanent replacement at the City Ground.
The goalkeeper will always be remembered as a hero for saving three penalties in the 2022 play-off semi-final, and keeping a clean sheet in the subsequent showpiece as Forest defeated Huddersfield Town.
Matt Turner, Odysseas Vlachodimos, and recent signing Matz Sels have all attempted to live up to the standards of the French shot-stopper in Nottingham, yet they haven’t reached his level.
However, the Reds have had a keeper since Samba’s exit that had the potential to become their number one for years to come, but he is no longer at the club.
Matz Sels' start at Forest
Sels only moved to Forest last month for a fee of £5m, in what was a busy month for the club, both on and off the field.
The Belgian star in between the sticks has had a tough start to life in Nottingham, with Nuno Espírito Santo’s side drawing 1-1 on his debut against Bournemouth and losing 3-2 to former club Newcastle United at the weekend.
Against the Cherries, Sels didn’t have a save to make, and his saving ability wasn’t tested at all, however, he was proactive and made two clearances. That said, the downside to his game was his passing, with the former Strasbourg ace having 59% pass accuracy.
On his City Ground debut, the keeper did make two saves in the game, but what will concern the Forest faithful is the fact that his goals prevented was -1.98, meaning that he should have dealt with the attempts for the goals much better.
How Dean Henderson compares to Samba
In the summer of the 2022/23 season, Dean Henderson joined Forest on a season-long loan from Manchester United, in the hopes that the shot-stopper would give them a better chance of survival.
Over the campaign, the 26-year-old played 18 matches for Steve Cooper’s side, however, he missed the second half of the season through a torn thigh injury, which he picked up at the start of January.
It’s normal for a keeper to have matches where they can’t do much to prevent goals, especially when playing in a side that faces plenty of shots, that said, he only conceded 1.7 goals per game during his spell at the club, with a saves per game of 3.1.
Henderson is a keeper who can keep his side in a game just via his saving ability, with his performance against Brighton & Hove Albion last season being one of his most memorable in a Forest shirt.
Minutes
95
Goals conceded
0
Saves
7
Saves inside the box
6
Goals prevented
1.64
Clearances
3
This is exactly what the club has been missing this season, with even former Spurs boss Antonio Conte labelling the former United man “incredible.”
It’s the match-defining moments, like saving two penalties last season, that he can pull off without breaking a sweat and what will make the Forest fans wish they had him back, but they failed to make the move permanent in the summer, with Henderson switching to Crystal Palace instead.
That move for the Englishman – who has now started eight successive league games – has certainly paid off, having arguably outperformed Sels in certain metrics across the last 365 days.
In comparison to his peers in Europe's top five leagues, Henderson notably ranks in the top 11% for average distance from goal for his defensive actions, meaning his regularly willing to act as a sweeper keeper, while Samba, by contrast, is far more rooted to his line as he ranks in just the bottom 33% for that same metric.
Nottingham Forest star who left in 2022 has been on fire this season
He’s scored 8 goals in 16 games so far this season.
ByEthan LambFeb 14, 2024
Equally, unlike Samba – who has never played in the Premier League – Henderson is a proven talent in England's top-flight, with former Blades teammate Sander Berge describing him as "insane" as he is "like having two goalkeepers in goal".
Such praise is indicative of the talent that Forest let slip from their grasp, with the jury out on whether Sels will be able to make his mark during what is a pivotal next few months for the club.