The custodian left Forest in the summer of 2022, just after his name was carved in the club’s history. Samba was genuinely magnificent as Forest defeated Sheffield United to reach the 2021/22 play-off final, and that will not be forgotten.
He’s now regularly rubbing elbows with elite players. Last season, he helped Lens mount a tenacious title push with PSG, qualifying for the Champions League.
Despite Lens’ setback, Samba shines.
Forest promotion champion Samba and his Ligue 1 team were defeated by a Luuk de Jong goal on the night. To make matters worse, Morgan Guilavogui was sent off in injury time for France.
Last night, Samba displayed the kind of form that regularly astounded Forest fans. Despite his team’s defeat, the six saves he made earned him the Man of the Match honour from Sofa Score.
It’s fair to assume that Forest hasn’t found their new version of Samba yet. Last season, the Reds had Dean Henderson and Keylor Navas in goal, but they were hardly replacements because they were both on loan.
Odysseas Vlachodimos has emerged as a possible replacement for Samba this season. Matt Turner was rested on Saturday, with the Greek player making his club debut.
Forest have done a lot of fantastic recruitment work in the last two years, but some fans believe the club should have done more to keep Samba when he left.
The player had expressed a wish to go, and it was possible that keeping him would be impossible. However, when Samba ultimately left the club, Forest should have sought a more permanent replacement.
