“He’s the most complete midfielder in the squad and he will only get better”- Lewis McGugan hails Nottingham Forest star as the most complete midfielder in Steve Cooper’s squad
Lewis McGugan has heaped praise on Nottingham Forest midfielder Orel Mangala. The playmaker has begun the season in scintilating form and produced a classy performance as the Reds were held to a 2-2 draw with Luton last time out.
McGugan was in attendance on Trentside for the contest and it would appear that he’s a big fan of the player.
The Reds did play pretty well during the contest. It was arguably the most comfortable that Forest have looked since they won promotion back to the Premier League.
However, silly mistakes have cost them once again. With a tough run of fixtures on the horizon, the Reds might just rue this result and they need to dust themselves down.
McGugan picked out Mangala for praise at the weekend. He believes that the 25-year-old is a quality player and believes there is even more to come from him.
McGugan told The Garibaldi Red Podcast: “For me, I’m really really impressed with him and I’ve been impressed with him since he came in. There was a point last season when he came out of the team and then when he came in towards the end of the season he had a massive impact.
“I feel that he’s probably the most complete midfielder in the squad and I mean that in terms of his all-round package. When he first came, it was a bit of a transformation, he was quite lightweight in midfield and we didn’t look at how good of a footballer he is.
“He’s robust, he’s strong and athletic and he takes the ball in any situation. That’s key and he’s got the confidence to do that. It probably helps that he’s got Sangare alongside him.
“I think he will just continue to get better, stronger and more confident. From my perspective, I’m very very happy from what I’ve seen and he will only get better.”
With Ibrahim Sangare and Nicolas Dominguez now in the Forest ranks, Mangala has started to thrive. He’s hardworking and in the past couple of months he’s really kicked on.
The Belgian international has taken some time to get going in the Premier League. He isn’t the first import to need a settling-in period though and that’s not really a criticism.
Mangala now looks like a regular in the team under Steve Cooper. Alongside Dominguez and Sangare the midfield looks settled and hopefully, that is one area of the team that the head coach now views as being settled.
