With no fewer than seven players making their exits from the club in recent weeks, Nottingham Forest have now waved goodbye to striker Karim Ansarifard.
Despite only signing for the Reds last year after being released by Olympiacos (via BBC Sport), the 29-year-old has agreed to a move to Al-Sailiya, joining the Qatari side on a two-year deal, as per the Nottingham Post.
The switch comes just two weeks after Sabri Lamouchi’s arrival at the City Ground with the new Forest boss already looking to put his own stamp on his squad by signing Yuri Ribeiro, Alfa Semedo, Tiago Silva, Albert Adomah and Arijanet Muric (via Transfermarkt).
Although he only featured on 12 occasions last season for the Reds (via Soccerbase), Ansarifard still managed to illustrate some real signs of promise for his side with his performances against Hull City and Queens Park Rangers earning him WhoScored ratings of 7.32 and 7.06.
Ending the year with four goal contributions to his name (via Transfermarkt), the Iranian international may well have been part of the club’s future if Martin O’Neill had remained as a manager yet with Lamouchi wanting to assemble his own side, he has instead been moved on.
With Ansarifard’s departure confirmed, Forest may now need to bring in a new centre-forward to provide competition to Lewis Grabban who rattled in 16 goals in 39 Championship appearances last season (via WhoScored).
Given that current back-up striker Daryl Murphy has reportedly been told he can leave the club this summer, as per the Nottingham Post, strengthening this particular area could turn out to be a priority for Lamouchi who will be aiming to better the club’s ninth-place finish last season in 2020.
Forest fans, what do you make of Ansarifard’s departure? Join the discussion by commenting below.
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