What's next for Nuno Espirito Santo's side following the Premier League's charges and more

This was Mail Sport’s blog as Tom Collmosse answers your questions surrounding Nottingham Forest.

Thanks for following along!

That’s all we have time for today, but you can follow along with our final Q&A of the afternoon – with Mail Sport’s Sami Mokbel talking all things Arsenal – by clicking the link below.

Q: What kind of test will Brentford present for Forest as they look to build on recent league form?

A: Forget the rut Brentford are in. The return of Ivan Toney, who has completed an eight-month ban for breaking gambling rules, makes them a completely different proposition and will lift the crowd hugely.

If Forest get away from west London with three points, it will be possibly even more impressive than the wins over Newcastle and Manchester United.

Q: What impact will Forest’s absent AFCON players have on the side?

A: Willy Boly is a big miss as he holds the back line together.

The rest are not quite so influential but losing so many players means Nuno will be having a number of anxious conversations with his medical team until the group stage of the tournament ends.

Q: Blackpool nearly presented Forest with a banana skin in their first meeting – how important is a good run in the FA Cup?

A: Everything is about Premier League survival, especially with a possible points deduction on the horizon.

Nuno makes all the right noises about the Cup but he won’t be too sad if their involvement ends at Blackpool.

Q: Will the club be earmarking certain players for sale for this window? And what are Forest’s plans for loan players Nuno Tavares and Divock Origi?

A: As we wrote in Mail Sport at the start of the window, the three identified initially to be moved on were Andrew Omobamidele, Andrey Santos and Tavares.

Santos has already had his loan cut short and is back at Chelsea. Don’t be surprised if Tavares returns to Arsenal while Omobamidele is expected to leave on loan.

Skipper Joe Worrall can leave along with fellow defender Scott McKenna and the club may listen to offers for Ryan Yates – but is there a market for these players?

That is why midfielder Orel Mangala is currently being offered to Italian and Turkish clubs.

Q: Will the news impact Forest’s plans for the January window?

A: Nuno Espírito Santo said at the press conference on Tuesday that Forest’s plans would not change. However, there are a few things to consider here.

Nuno likes small squads so there is no way Forest will end the window with a bigger squad than the one that started it.

Second, while trading in this month does not count towards the charge Forest are facing, it wouldn’t be the greatest idea to spend £20m on a new striker, just as they are trying to convince the authorities that they take these these rules seriously.

So expect a quiet-ish window from Forest.

Q: What is the feeling around the club in relation to the charges?

A: It’s been noticeable how straight Forest are playing this.

Whereas Everton have railed against the Premier League’s rules, Forest’s statement was far more cautious.

I wonder if they believe a careful, respectful strategy will play better with the Premier League and the commission than going on the attack.

They’ll have their answer soon enough.

Q: What kind of punishment could Forest be facing for their breach of PL spending rules – and when might they know?

A: They hope to know by the end of the month what their fate will be. It’s impossible to predict how hard the commission will come down on them.

They have one of the best in the business in the corner though: Nick De Marco KC, a hugely experienced barrister who has acted in many sports-related cases.

… Tom Collomosse will be answering all your burning questions over the next hour.

So this is what football looks like in the season 2023-24 — the year of the pencil. Of the lightly drawn asterisk. Of the draconian sanctions that might be terminal to a campaign, but could also be rubbed away in a hearing and no hard feelings.

We don’t know how the situations with Everton and Nottingham Forest will play out. We don’t know if those charges issued by the Premier League on Monday will translate into deductions, just as we don’t know if Everton’s original 10-point penalty will diminish, disappear or endure in its entirety via the appeal process…

Nuno Espirito Santo breaks his silence on Nottingham Forest being charged for breaching spending rules

Nuno Espirito Santo’s first public appearance since Nottingham Forest were charged with breaking spending rules was dominated by questions of what their manager knew and when.

The Portuguese agreed to succeed Steve Cooper at the City Ground in December, less than a month before Forest were informed of the Premier League’s decision on January 15.

The matter has been referred to an independent commission, with Forest risking a points deduction for failing to adhere to profit and sustainability regulations (PSR).