Nottingham Forest sign Andre Ayew – their 29th player since earning promotion
Nottingham Forest have completed their 29th signing of the season with the capture of Andre Ayew, the former Swansea forward.
Ayew, 33, has joined the Midlands club on a short-term contract as a free agent to team up again with his old manager Steve Cooper.
Less than 48 hours after the January transfer window deadline, Ayew is the latest new arrival after his contract with Al Sadd expired.
Forest signed six players last month with Keylor Navas, Jonjo Shelvey, Danilo, Chris Wood, Felipe and Gustavo Scarpa arriving at the City Ground.
The move to sign Ayew was in response to the injuries to forwards Morgan Gibbs-White, Jesse Lingard and Taiwo Awoniyi.
Ayew said: “I know how big the club is and I know how much the club means to the city and the fanbase. It’s always been difficult whenever I’ve played against Forest and at the City Ground and I love the stadium.
“Steve Cooper is someone who knows me very well and knows how to work with me both on and off the pitch. We have a strong relationship, he’s a special coach and a special human being and someone who I really look up to.
“I know what I can bring to the team, I’m ready to give my all and make sure that we are able to stay in the Premier League.”
Forest named their 25-man squad on Thursday with midfielder Lewis O’Brien left out of the final cut.
O’Brien was due to join Blackburn on loan on deadline day but the move was delayed and the EFL rejected the Championship club’s application to sign him.
Blackburn have until Tuesday to appeal the decision, with O’Brien facing a nervous wait to discover if he can play again this season.
Evangelos Marinakis, the Forest owner, has been determined to give the team the very best chance of survival.
Promotion via the Championship play-off final last season ended an exile of 23 years from the top division and Marinakis does not want the two-time European Cup winners to throw away their chance of progressing.
Since a heavy 4-0 defeat at Leicester in October, Forest have only lost one of their last nine matches at the City Ground. They face Leeds at home in a huge relegation showdown this weekend.
Navas, the Costa Rica international goalkeeper, is poised to make his debut after joining on loan from Paris St-Germain for the remainder of the campaign.
Forest moved for the former Real Madrid man due to concerns over the fitness of Manchester United loanee Dean Henderson, who has sustained a thigh injury.