Aitor Karanka selected surprise name at left-back in Nottingham Forest’s draw with Derby

Aitor Karanka selected Saidy Janko at left-back in Nottingham Forest’s 0-0 draw with Derby County, with Daniel Fox still out injured and Jack Robinson having to fill in at centre-back. The 23-year-old hasn’t featured for Forest since October 3 but was brought back in from the cold and put himself about at the iPro Stadium.

Against Derby, Janko made two tackles, two clearances and didn’t give away a foul. He was useful offensively too, making two dribbles, winning four free-kicks and whipping in two crosses. Tendayi Darikwa was the only Forest defender to boast a better pass completion ratio (76.7%) than Janko (74.1%) too.

The Swiss u21 international will be happy to help Forest keep a clean sheet, but he may now be set for another spell on the bench as Jack Robinson will be available to play left-back so long as he’s no longer needed in central defence upon Tobias Figueredo’s return from suspension.

Jack Robinson was initially offering back-up at left-back but became a regular while Fox was out of action. Robinson was then called upon to play centre-back due to Michael Dawson and Tobias Figueredo being unavailable.

Karanka will welcome back at least one defender their upcoming meeting with Queens Park Rangers on December 22.

Crippy Cooke’s previous article