(Credit: Imago)

Jonathan Burnett

Mon 18 August 2025 10:20, UK

Nottingham Forest got their season off to a perfect start against Brentford with Chris Wood and Dan Ndoye at the forefront.

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Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side have undergone a summer of change as they prepare for European football to return to the City Ground, as both Nottingham Forest and Brentford made use of much-changed squads.

Brentford have lost Christian Norgaard, Bryan Mbeumo and manager Thomas Frank this summer, while Forest signed Ndoye from Bologna for £34.6million after Anthony Elanga’s £55m move to Newcastle.

Forest unveiled both Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee prior to kick-off after their respective moves from Ipswich and Man City, but the duo could already be facing a battle to earn a place in Nuno’s team.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side got off to a winning start on Sunday (Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media)

Forest have added Botafogo striker Igor Jesus to their ranks this summer and a fee is agreed for Rennes’ Arnaud Kalimuendo, but Wood underlined his credentials as their starting number nine against Brentford.

The New Zealand striker prodded home the first of his two goals after just five minutes on Sunday, and added his second just before half-time following a superb first-time pass from Elliot Anderson in midfield.

Ndoye was the beneficiary of another sensational ball from Morgan Gibbs-White to head home a goal of his own on his competitive Forest debut, and the two forwards celebrated together on social media.

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Wood posted on Instagram on 17 August to mark his opening-day brace with the message of: “Prem’s back!

And what a start!”, as Ndoye responded in the comments to say: “Let’s goooo”.

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Football Insider Verdict

Ndoye gave Nathan Collins a torrid time at the City Ground as the post-Thomas Frank era began with a heavy defeat for Brentford, with the Swiss wideman slotting straight into Elanga‘s role on the right flank.

With Igor Jesus, Hutchinson and McAtee now in the mix and Kalimuendo looking set to follow the pair to Forest this summer, Nuno has an embarrassment of riches to choose from in the final third for Forest.

Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Wood and Callum Hudson-Odoi will be in no mood to give up their starting places, but Forest’s bulked-up squad already appears to have the depth necessary for their UEFA Conference League adventure.

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