Nottingham Forest are back in Europe.
They will play their first European competition since the 1995/96 season.
They reached the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup in that season, when they lost to Bayern Munich.
Two years later, and Forest were relegated to the second tier of English football.
After another two seasons of promotion and relegation, it took them until 2022 to return to the top flight.
They have been there ever since.
There was concern they may suffer from the drop last season.
A four point deduction was handed to Forest after breaking profit and sustainability rules.
They earned survival, finishing 17th and six points clear of Luton Town.
Not much was expected from Forest in the 2024/25 season.
However, Forest defied the odds and ended the campaign in seventh place under manager Nuno Espírito Santo.
They even broke a record previously set in 1967, by earning six straight wins in the top flight.
For large parts of the season, they were firmly in the Champions League places.
Just two wins in their last eight meant they dropped down to Conference League.
Whilst this was not the ending Forest wanted, they would have taken seventh place and European Football when the season began.
A lack of squad depth meant players were rarely rotated.
This was a large contributing factor to their late season collapse.
It looks like they have already made plans for next season to bolster their squad size.
It has been reported that they are close to signing three players from Brazilian side Botafogo.
Striker Igor Jesus, left-back Cuiabano and centre back Jair Cunha are all being targeted by Forest and a deal is close to being agreed.
All under the age of 25, this not only provides depth and a potential rotational headache for Santo, but also gives them players for the future.
Whether this is planning for players departures or just to booster squad size, Forest are already making plans for next season.
🚨 Nottingham Forest close to agreeing deal with Botafogo for signing of Brazilian trio Igor Jesus, Cuiabano + Jair Cunha. Not done but #NFFC aiming to secure #Botafogo striker Jesus (24), left-back Cuiabano (22) & central defender Jair (20) @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/Kc5UG8PnlZ
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 1, 2025
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