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Unused substitute, one appearance since Feb – why doesn’t O’Neill play Nottingham Forest man?

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Claudio Yacob was once again an unused substitute as Nottingham Forest fell to another defeat in the Championship. The Reds lost 3-0 to Sheffield Wednesday and have kept only one clean sheet since February.

Martin O’Neill has praised the defensive midfielder to the media but continues to overlook Yacob when selecting his starting XI and the decision makes little sense when looking at how poor the Reds have been of late.

Yacob has made 13 Championship appearances (881 minutes) this season, making 22 clearances, blocking five shots, winning 29 aerial duels (57%), making 38 passes-per-game with 84% accuracy and averaging a tackle (28) or interception (6) every 26 minutes.

The 31-year-old would surely provide more defensive protection in midfield, but he can barely make the substitutes’ bench under O’Neill. Instead, Ben Watson and Ryan Yates have gotten the nod alongside Jack Colback.

Yacob still has one year remaining on his deal so he isn’t going anywhere this summer unless he’s sold. However, given he’s made just one appearance since February, he may locate a move away from the City Ground in the coming weeks.

Should O’Neill bring Yacob back to the starting eleven?

Read Crippy Cooke’s previous article

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.