Why Forest wanted Renan Lodi, why he wanted them, and what the fans can expect

For those who remember the days of Gino Padula, Matty Lockwood and Billy Davies having a meltdown over the failure to retain the services of loanee Nicky Shorey, these will feel like heady days.

Nottingham Forest are a club with many long-held traditions. One of the less welcome ones — stretching back over many years — is their apparent habit of leaving themselves short of options at left-back.

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But when faced with that exact potential issue, largely because of the hairline fracture in Omar Richards’ leg, the response of the current hierarchy has been to sign a player who, if he does well in the coming months, has a reasonable chance of starting on the left side of defence for Brazil at the World Cup this winter.

No more faded Leyton Orient old boys, Argentine journeymen from QPR or a bemused James Perch being asked to fill in at left-back in a Championship play-off semi-final, as Davies seemingly tried to make a point. 

Instead, Forest have signed a player who in the past has been the subject of interest from Newcastle United, Manchester City and Juventus. Somebody who, for the past three years, has notched up 118 appearances for Atletico Madrid, including 27 in the Champions League. Last season, he was a key figure as the Spanish side defeated Manchester United in the last-16.

While there are other examples, few of the 18 new additions at Forest epitomise the vast change in mood and ethos at the City Ground quite as well as Renan Lodi.

And, not for the first time, the persuasive powers of both the club hierarchy — led by the Marinakis family — and Steve Cooper came to the fore, as they sold their vision to Lodi. 

“The club placed a lot of faith in me from the very first contact we had. They made a lot of effort for me to be here today,” Lodi told the club website. “I’d like to write my name into the club’s history. I want Nottingham to stay in the Premier League. My main objective is also to go to the World Cup, representing Forest with the Brazilian national team. This club showed total faith in me and I want to give something back to them too.”

The deal is one that works well for all parties. Forest have paid a loan fee in the region of €5m (£4.3m, $4.9m) and have an option to make the move permanent for €30m. Atletico are expected to replace him by signing Tottenham’s Sergio Reguilon, who had also been the subject of interest from Forest.

In the meantime, Forest have signed a genuinely exciting player. A 24-year-old with a rampaging, swashbuckling spirit.

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Lodi’s desire to get forward and be involved in the final third could quickly make him a popular figure at the City Ground, where such qualities have been treasured in a left-back since the days of Stuart Pearce. They will certainly be a useful asset in a Forest side for which such attributes are seen as vital by Cooper, who likes his wing-backs to provide attacking width and thrive in the final third.

Lodi will definitely bring that, even if he is not always as strong defensively as he is getting forward. At Atletico, he was occasionally utilised as an out-and-out winger, as well as playing as wing-back and full-back.

Diego Simeone, the Atletico head coach, managed to simultaneously praise and criticise Lodi for his attitude after the move had been confirmed.

#BemVindoLodi 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/yVB3HRsA4V

— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) August 29, 2022

“I am grateful for his work, his behaviour, always being willing to help wherever he was needed, as a starter or coming on in the second half. He has always done so in committed manner,” said Simeone. “I am not committed to anyone. There is an enormous competition in that area — some like to compete and others prefer to go to other teams in order to have those minutes that gets them closer to being able to go to the World Cup.”

Lodi had been on the bench so far for Atletico this season, with Simeone picking Yannick Carrasco and Saul Niguez ahead of him. He is likely to be among the substitutes again as Forest head to Manchester City tomorrow night. But Lodi has already had a taste of the City Ground atmosphere, having flown into Nottingham in time to watch the 2-0 defeat to Spurs and it is unlikely it will be too long before he gets to experience it from a more central position.

“I mentioned this to my agent (sat) in the stands, the high-pressure environment playing in front of the fans here — I love it, and genuinely can’t wait to be playing and feeling the passion of a home crowd,” said Lodi. “I’m excited about the intensity of the game. It’s a strong, physical game. I’m certain that it will really suit my style of play.”

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Lodi likes to use his pace to get forward, which helped him score a memorable goal against Celta Vigo in February. 

A high, looping ball looks difficult to control on the run…

But he takes it down brilliantly, first time and cuts inside his man…

Then cuts back for a second time…

And beats the keeper at his near post with a crisply struck shot.

Lodi played 1,181 minutes in 13 La Liga starts and 16 sub appearances for Atletico last season, scoring twice and providing two assists in that time.

As well as using his pace to get forward, Lodi can deliver crosses from deeper positions, as he demonstrated when setting up a goal for Joao Felix in Atletico’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United in February.

When Lodi collects a clearance with his back to goal, there seems to be little danger…

But, again, his speed helps as he knocks the ball past his man and darts into space…

Before delivering an inch-perfect ball into the centre…

… and Joao Felix heads home emphatically, off the inside of the post.

When Neymar feeds Lodi in an almost identical position when playing for Brazil against Venezuela in June 2021, he looks up and delivers the ball into the same area…

Centre-back Eder Militao should score but sends his header wide…

Lodi’s pace is also useful defensively, with Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain perhaps believing he had the better of the defender for speed in their Champions League match in March 2020…

… only for Lodi to recover and make a fine challenge.

As with every other signing this summer, Forest have carefully researched Lodi’s personality. In his case, his background is testament to a young man who has always been determined to succeed, for very personal reasons.

In 2012, Lodi was spotted by the scouts of a soccer school run by a family with a long history of success in the food supply business, who had decided that there was also money to be made in football. Lodi, then aged 13, was spotted by the Stival family in Sao Paulo and offered a trial. He impressed sufficiently to be signed to Stival’s amateur program and invited to live at the training centre at Athletico Paranaense, not long after his 14th birthday.

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Lodi would call his father on a nightly basis, asking to be allowed to return home. But even at that age, he was aware that he could help his family out of poverty with the ball at his feet. “I always put that goal in my head,” he said during his time in Madrid. “I said to myself: ‘I’m going to be the father of the family. I’m going to chase my dreams, and I’m going to try to give them a better condition ahead in the future’.”

Lodi made his debut for Athletico Paranaense in 2016 and went on to make 49 further appearances for them in the demanding surroundings of the Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana — which they won in 2018 — and the Recopa Sudamericana. By the time Lodi moved to Atletico Madrid in a deal worth €18m in June 2019, he had already achieved enough to secure his family’s future.

Now, following his arrival in Nottingham, his signing represents the start of an exciting new chapter for both him and Forest.

And barring some seriously bad luck, their traditional left-back issues should be a thing of the past.

(Top photo: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

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