Arijanet Muric spent another game on the bench for Nottingham Forest as Sabri Lamouchi chose Brice Samba between the sticks against Preston North End – the Reds drew 1-1 at the City Ground. It was the third consecutive game that Muric has been overlooked in goal and may raise doubts over his chances of gametime in the East Midlands.
Upon his arrival from Manchester City, Lamouchi seemed adamant that Muric would be No.1 between the sticks this season and didn’t waste time offloading Luke Steele and dropping Costel Pantillimon. That decision appears to have been very impulsive, however, as Muric has looked shaky in goal and has been taken out of the spotlight since his outing against Charlton Athletic (August 21).
Samba has featured in four of Forest’s last six games in all competitions – Fleetwood Town (EFL Cup) on August 13, Fulham (Championship) on August 24, Derby County (EFL Cup) on August 27 and Preston (Championship) on August 31. There’s still plenty of the season remaining, but Muric may not get a look-in unless Samba’s form falls off a cliff or if he picks up an injury.
It was an unusual move that Lamouchi was on the hunt for another goalkeeper after initially signing Muric, but Samba has so far proven that call was the right one.
