New signing Fouad Bachirou is a man with the ability to keep calm under pressure - a quality which should serve him well at Nottingham Forest.
That’s the verdict from Swedish journalist Erik Hadzic, who covers Bachirou’s former club Malmo for TV4.
The midfielder penned a two-year deal with the Reds on Wednesday, for his first taste of English football.
He started out at PSG as a youngster, before heading to Scottish side Greenock Morton and then to Sweden, first with Ostersunds and then Malmo.
And Hadzic is confident the 30-year-old will be able to adapt to the unique challenges of the Championship as Sabri Lamouchi’s side bid for promotion.
“He's a modern defensive midfielder. Good on the ball and a great tackler,” Hadzic said of Bachirou.
“He has experience of different football cultures, which should help him adapt at Forest.
“On his day Fouad Bachirou is one of the best midfielders in the Swedish Allsvenskan.
“Bachirou is very calm with the ball and doesn't fall under opponents' pressure, which adds an international layer to his appearance on the pitch.
“He's quick in his mind, but maybe lacks a bit of pace. And he doesn't know how to shoot, which zero goals at Malmo suggests.”
Bachirou left Morton after a four-year spell in 2014.
He then spent three years with Ostersunds, before joining Malmo two years ago, where he made close to 100 appearances.
He has Europa League experience from both Swedish clubs and, although born in France, has played at international level for Comoros.
He has previously been linked with a move to the MLS.
“Bachirou spent 3.5 years at Östersunds (where he actually scored three times) and arrived when they played in the second tier,” Hadzic said.
“In Bachirou's second season they won promotion and in his final year Östersunds won the Swedish Cup and made the last-32 in the Europa League.
“Then, in 2018, Malmö FF called and he continued his excellent form that year.
“Last season Bachirou wasn't quite as dominant and he's had some injury issues this summer. Maybe he hoped to be sold to a bigger club abroad last year and that could have affected his performance in 2019.”
Known as Fred or Bash, Forest’s fourth summer signing has proved popular with supporters in the past.
Hadzic says he has also been well liked within the dressing room at Malmo.
“Bachirou is calm and very polite, always with a smile on his face,” he said. “One former Malmö player said he has a very dry sense of humour.
“I'm pretty confident that he will make Forest a better side. Bachirou has experience from tough games in the Europa League and at Malmö there is a strong competitiveness.
“He joined Östersunds from the Scottish team Morton and has four years of British football under his belt.
“I don't think his lack of pace will be exposed in the Championship either.”
