Sky Sports presenter David Prutton has called for Keinan Davis to start in Nottingham Forest’s play-off semi-final second leg against Sheffield United.
The striker returned to action in the 2-1 first-leg victory as a 77th-minute substitute having missed the final six games of the regular Championship season.
The 24-year-old had been a mainstay in the Forest side since arriving in January on loan from Aston Villa, starting in 14 of his 15 appearances before suffering a hamstring injury in the 1-0 defeat to Luton Town in the middle of April.
Now with a cameo introduction under his belt, Prutton feels Davis would be vital to Forest’s gameplan and their hopes of progressing.
Speaking on the Garibaldi Red podcast, he said: “Someone like Keinan coming in to start with the bit between his teeth, I think, sets the tempo for Forest, so you’re not sat there for 95 minutes containing a team, you’re sat there going, ‘we’re going to do the same thing, we’re going to go for you, we’re going to do what we’ve done to the best teams in this division’. And I think he gives them the platform to set up that way.”
TIF Thoughts on Davies and Forest…
Davis, who is valued at £2.25m (as per Transfermarkt), had weighed in with seven goal contributions in the Championship before his injury, but in his absence, permanent winter arrival Sam Surridge – the man he came on for on Saturday – has filled the void, netting five goals and making one assist in his last six starts.
Manager Steve Cooper won’t be short of options in the final third, but perhaps Davis’ ability to hold the ball up for his teammates and grind out a result will be the way to go for the Forest manager.
Davis leads the team with 2.5 successful dribbles per 90 minutes and his determination will be sure to drive the east Midlanders into attacking areas, while his 1.4 fouls drawn per game – the highest among Forest’s attackers – will help his side slow the play down and win free-kicks, affording them a chance to put the ball in the box and cause United problems.