Derby County have signed midfielder Tyrese Fornah on a two year contract from East Midlands rival Nottingham Forest. The 23 year spent last season on loan at Reading. What an he bring to The Rams? We spoke with James Earnshaw, Digital Reading Journalist for The Reading Chronicle , The Tilehurst End and Elm Park Royals to find out!
Derby have signed midfielder Tyrese Fornah. What do you make of it?
James: I think he is a smart pick-up for Derby. Rivalry with Forest aside, he's a lovely bloke and has bags of potential.
The Tilehurst End: On the face of it I’m a little surprised, given the close local rivalry with Nottingham Forest, but aside from that, this could be a decent bit of business for Derby County. Tyrese Fornah has the ability to perform in the short term and develop in the longer run, so a permanent transfer makes a lot of sense from a Derby point of view.
Elm Park Royals: It's probably the right level, he did okay in the Championship, but was by no means a stand out. He performed well when asked, but was never able to push on and make a regular spot in the first team despite a high number of apperances, it never felt like he was a key player last season.
What can we expect from him?
James: A midfielder with bags of energy and an infectious personality. Will run through brick walls for his teammates. He's not the finished article by any means, but you want him to succeed.
The Tilehurst End: Fornah’s a young midfielder with ability who’s probably good enough to be an asset for your first team, but even if he isn’t, he’ll be a valuable and enthusiastic squad player.
Elm Park Royals: Tough to say - as often he was played out of position at Reading on the left wing, not in central midfield. However, from the appearances he made in CM, he was highly energetic, a bit of a ball chaser, quite strong in the tackle, and fairly deep lying. Don't expect too many goals or creative moments (This might change with Derby playing a different style to Reading last year, Messi would have struggled to look creative!).
Are you surprised that Fornah would be looking to sign for a League One club?
James: Yeah, must admit I thought another Championship team might have taken a punt on him. Was very popular with the Reading fans.
The Tilehurst End: No. While he didn’t look out of place in the Championship, he’s more likely to get regular game time at League One level, so dropping down into the third tier is probably a wise choice from his point of view.
Elm Park Royals: Not hugely, the Shrewsbury loan went very well for him in 2021/2022 and the Championship seemed like the natural step up, however unsure he ever had any rave reviews in any matches where he was the stand out performer, so a drop down to the upper ends of League One should give him an opportunity to stand out more.
He was on loan at Reading last season. How did he do?
James: He was hit and miss but gave his all throughout. He is a silky player but has a tendency to switch off at times. I'd be keen to see how he progresses in a team expected to dominate possession which Reading weren't last season).
The Tilehurst End: Fornah was a first-team regular in the early stages of Reading’s campaign, then started to get less game time in the autumn. It didn’t help him that Tom Ince (our best performer) and Jeff Hendrick (undroppable, although we still don’t know why) were pretty much automatic picks for two of the three midfield spots from October or so onwards. He had pretty sporadic involvement in the second half of the season, but did get shunted out to the left wing in an unconvincing 4-4-2 that was rolled out a few times in the closing stages of the campaign.
He played 37 times for The Royals last season, how did he perform?
James: Yeah, he was probably one of the most popular loan players last season. Popped up with some vital goals and a lovely lad to boot.
The Tilehurst End: At The Tilehurst End we do player ratings each week, and Fornah’s season-wide average of 5.6/10 is at exactly the same level as the season-wide average for the entire squad. That feels like an apt summary for him: middle of the road, neither massively great or terrible. His better individual performances came earlier on in the season: a really good all-round performance against Blackburn Rovers (3-0 win), then a goal scoring one a few days later against Middlesbrough (1-0 win).By and large though he was better when the team was better and worse when the team was worse.
Would you call his time at Reading a success?
The Tilehurst End: Yes and no. If Reading simply wanted a pretty solid midfielder for the duration of the 2022/23 season they got it, but Fornah didn’t show enough overall to prove he had a longer-term future at the club, even after relegation to League One. He might well call it a success from his own point of view though, getting regular first-team minutes at Championship level to continue his development after League One loans with Plymouth Argyle and Shrewsbury Town.
Elm Park Royals: I think overall, it was probably a success just about, and I think Reading fans wouldn't have minded seeing him back at the club, despite the relegation. He wasn't hailed as a POTS type player, but was never seen as one of the weaker performers either. A very solid, consistent type of level all year.
What are his strengths? His weaknesses?
James: His strengths are technical ability and running with the ball at his feet. He got the ball from A to B very quickly and could beat a man. His weaknesses: He switches off sometimes. Also, He failed to truly nail down a starting berth toward the end.
The Tilehurst End: He’s a hard-working, energetic midfielder who’s pretty comfortable with the ball at his feet, but he’s also not that creative when playing higher up the pitch. That’s all got to be caveated by my answer to the next question though.
Elm Park Royals: Strengths, that's tough to say as mentioned because he was often played out of position! Energy and work rate are certainly there though which was critical last year. Also was strong in the centre when he was played there.
Weaknesses would be he wasn't creative, and playing him out wide on the left was really painful watching - he is very much a central midfielder, and was not confident with his left foot at all.
What type of midfielder is Fornah? Box to box? Creative? Defensively minded?
James: Think he will thrive as a box-to-box. Ince played him out wide and through the middle so hard to judge. Had an engine and can progress the ball
The Tilehurst End: It’s a little tricky to answer this but it’s not Fornah’s fault. He joined Reading after playing in two roles on loan at Shrewsbury Town: initially as a box-to-box player and then in a deeper role where he could get on the ball more. Given that he’d impressed more in the latter position, we expected him to be deployed there at Reading, but that never happened.
One of the many missteps last season of Paul Ince (a terrible manager tactically) was to stubbornly refused to use Fornah deeper, which would have given Reading more ability to retain and use possession. Instead he overwhelmingly used Fornah as a box-to-box midfielder (in a long-ball side), although Reading’s general inability to get high up the pitch meant Fornah was more of a “box” midfielder.
Because of all that it felt somewhat as if Fornah was hung out to dry by a manager who wasn’t able to use him properly.
Elm Park Royals: Deep lying, wouldn't call him a playmaker, more of a water carrier type playe
Do you think Fornah can be good player in League One for Derby?
James: He can be a really good addition for Derby. He didn't look out of his depth in a poor Championship side with minimal possession. Will watch his progress keenly
The Tilehurst End: Yes, but only if he’s used properly: deeper in midfield and in a side that gets on the ball and tries to work it forward rather than hoofing it.
Elm Park Royals: I don't think he will necessarily dominate at League One level, but he is a very capable squad option for Derby. Someone who can rotate into a squad very comfortably.
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