Nottingham Forest have dismissed head of recruitment George Syrianos and head of scouting Andy Scott following a review of their summer transfer business by owner Evangelos Marinakis and new sporting director Filippo Giraldi.
The Premier League newcomers made 22 signings since winning the Championship playoff final but find themselves second from bottom with five points from nine games.
Syrianos was appointed to his role by chief executive Dane Murphy with the remit of bringing a data-driven strategy to the club’s transfer business. The plan was to take the club away from expensive, ageing signings, instead trying to bring in players under the age of 26 with potential sell-on value. He was credited with a number of the signings that helped get the team back into the Premier League for the first time in 23 years, including right-back Djed Spence.
Some of those principles were forgotten by the club this summer as owner Marinakis and his son Miltos became increasingly involved in signings following their surprise promotion.
During the summer Syrianos brought in a number of players from the Bundesliga, knowing the German market well having previously worked at Stuttgart. Moussa Niakhaté and Orel Mangala, in addition to Taiwo Awoniyi were all earmarked by Syrianos as Premier League players with potential.
The departure of Syrianos and Scott brings increasing instability at a club that seemed to have found some last week when Steve Cooper signed a new contract running until 2025 after looking likely to lose his job at one stage. Scott arrived at the club last season following the appointment of Cooper having previously worked together at Swansea. Murphy is another whose job has been rumoured to be under threat in recent weeks and the exit of key ally Syrianos will not help the situation.
