Nottingham Forest are reportedly being seen by experts as one club who are ‘most at risk’ of being hit by sanctions for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules.
According to The Times, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are considered to be ‘sailing close to the wind’ by financial writers following their spending in the previous transfer window.
The outlet also reports that fears are mounting that Everton could be in further trouble and may face a second charge after the Toffees were slapped with a 10-point deduction in November for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Everton announced at the start of December that they had lodged an appeal against their penalty, but reports have arisen that the Merseyside outfit could face a second charge under new regulations brought in by the league last summer.
They state that clubs will need to submit their accounts for the 2022-23 season by December 31, with breaches of financial rules set to be dealt with by April.
Points deductions and sanctions would subsequently be applied by the end of the season, with clubs being given two weeks to respond to any charges made against them.
Following New Year’s Eve deadline for the submission of their financial accounts, any breaches of financial rules will be announced on January 14, with clubs having to wait a little less than two weeks to learn of their fates.
But football finance writer Kieran Maguire told The Times: ‘Nottingham Forest were very much at the limit of their Financial Fair Play allowance when they were promoted to the Premier League and that investment in new players continued in their first season, when they signed players on high wages, including some such as Jesse Lingard who didn’t work out,’
‘If you are looking for clubs close to the limit they would be at the top in my opinion.’
Since they were promoted to the top-flight in 2022, Forest have bolstered their squad bringing in a raft of new players.
While they will have earned more money from playing in the league, they made a loss of £45.6m while also making a loss of £15.5m the season prior.
The Premier League’s PSR claim that clubs are only allowed to make a maximum loss of £105m across a three-year period.
Despite that, for teams being promoted to the top-flight, that £105m is reduced to £13m per season, meaning Forest will reportedly be restricted to incurring losses of £61m for the last three seasons.
Mail Sport understands that Forest spent approximately £52m on Ibrahim Sangare Anthony Elanga and Matt Turner this summer, with the club also signing Chris Wood, Odysseas Vlachodimos and Callum Hudson-Odoi for undisclosed fees.
