Keylor Navas’s deadline day move to Nottingham Forrest was their 28th signing of the season and arguably the best business they have done since gaining promotion to the Premier League.
The Costa Rica captain left Paris Saint-Germain in the hopes of playing regular football, something he has struggled to nail down since the arrival of Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Navas has been one of the best goalkeepers in Europe for nearly a decade but has rarely seen praise or recognition a player of his quality should demand.
During his time in Madrid, it was no secret that he was never the long term number one with a goalkeeper always being a priority transfer target despite winning the UEFA Champions League three time in a row, something which has never been done before or since.
Injury to Nottingham Forrest’s Dean Henderson offered the perfect opportunity for a team pushing for Premier League safety to acquire an excellent goalkeeper, and for Navas to move on from bench warming in Paris.
In his debut in Forrest’s previous fixture against Leeds United, Navas stood out, his quality was undoubtable. The 36-year-old keeper made an instant impact, making four crucial saves and keeping a clean sheet in their 1-0 victory. This was Steve Cooper’s side sixth of the campaign, an insight into how exposed they have been defensively.
This gameweek Nottingham Forrest travel to London where they will face former championship competitors Fulham, who have been flying under Marco Silva. This will be a tougher test for Navas as Fulham’s attacking threat consisting of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dan James and Andreas Pereira have them sitting in 8th place.
Will Keylor Navas deliver against Fulham and help Nottingham Forrest stay in the Premier League? Or will the Costa Rican fail in England and return to Paris?