Oliver Glasner says Nottingham Forest have a top youngster impressing behind the scenes
Nottingham Forest travel to Aston Villa for a Midlands battle on Saturday following a solid but unspectacular start to Oliver Glasner’s first season at the helm.
The former Crystal Palace manager got off to a poor start with back to back defeats to Leeds in the Premier League and League Cup, but two hard fought draws against tough opposition have lifted spirits at the City Ground, with Forest the better team in large parts of clashes with Liverpool and Tottenham.
The Tricky Trees felt harshly treated by the decision to rule out Neco Williams’ goal against Spurs, with Glasner reiterating his frustration before Villa having received an unsatisfactory explanation from the Premier League.
He was however full of praise for the club’s business this summer, revelling in the depth at his disposal and the start made by one new signing in particular.
“Every position is occupied by two players. We have plenty of options which is positive, the new players are doing well and we can see they’re training well every week. We can see how much of a positive impact Xaver Schlager has had so far. We want competition everywhere.”
Schlager has certainly stood out so far, but Forest’s player of the season to this point may just be emerging young centre-back Jair Cunha, who played just nine times in the top flight during his first campaign at the club but has featured in every minute so far this term.
|
Jair Cunha 2026/27 |
Per game |
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Tackles |
1.7 |
|
Interceptions |
1 |
|
Fouls |
1 |
|
Clearances |
6 |
|
Blocks |
0.7 |
|
Aerial duels |
1 |
|
Long balls |
1.7 |
The 21 year-old has been called up to Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad for their upcoming friendlies against Australia and India at the end of September, with Glasner gushing over the “fantastic news” which is “well deserved”.
Perhaps most promising of all for Forest fans however, it is the 6 foot 6 defender’s work ethic and attitude in pre-season and behind closed doors that have really impressed his manager.
“It’s a huge achievement for him at 21-years-old. You can see how quickly things can happen in football. We’ve been together for around two months and from day one he was listening, working hard and asking what he can improve.” (via BBC Sounds)
Glasner also issued a challenge to Cunha’s club and international teammate Murillo, who at one point looked to be cementing himself as one of the league’s best defenders, drawing interest from the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool, but has been left out of Ancelotti’s thinking following a hamstring injury that affected his pre-season.
“I have spoken to him regularly, just like the other players,” Glasner said. “His fitness is getting better and better. He played his first 45 minutes of football during the (pre-season) training camp in Portugal, which was five weeks ago and he had been out for four months.
“It is about getting rhythm. He has been involved in every training session, he has played in most of the games and he is getting closer and closer to his top fitness level. It might have maybe taken longer than we expected and he has produced okay performances. But we all know that his standards are not to be an okay player for Forest, they are to be a top player and a top defender – he has all the potential and skills for this.
“We will support him until he is, hopefully, even better than he has been before. He is really working hard. He is on track.”
Villa are one of just four sides with less points than Forest so far this term, and with Unai Emery’s side taking a midweek trip to Brugge in the Champions League, Glasner may feel they are there for the taking on Saturday.
