Ins and Outs
04/08/00 | by Alex Walker for EMSoccer.com

After a summer devoid of transfers for Forest, this week we finally saw some progress in terms of strengthening the team. It was only two weeks ago when Platt said he would be waiting until the time was right to be bringing in more players. Maybe the time is now. In the last few days Forest have been busy trying to finish various deals, but so far the only one to go through is that of a player leaving. And good riddance many will say.

Nigel Quashie was supposed to be the next Paul Ince when Dave Basset spent £2.5 million on him. But as he departed for Portsmouth at a fraction of the price, he was more like the next Andrea Silenzi. His clouded departure was mainly down to an argument with Platt concerning his dis-satisfaction in Nottingham, but fans will remember him as being an ineffective waster. He continually frustrated with his lack of precision in his passing and the way he hardly ever bothered to try and regain the ball he had just given away. But the most frustrating thing about Nigel was that he did show talent, but he what he didn't show was the slightest bit of interest. I expect him to shine at Pompey in the way he did at QPR, which is perhaps just bad luck for us as had his heart been in it he could have done very well for himself.

The money raised for Quashie's sale was a measly £600,000 to be paid over 3 years. Not quite the boost to the transfer kitty many had hoped for, but at least he's off the wage bill. Because Platt's funds are still limited, he may be forced to sell more players. Or even swap players...

Specifically swap Andy Johnson for Birmingham's Peter Ndlovu. Platt has shown interest in the Zimbabwe attacker before, but is reported to have turned down Birmingham's exchange bid. I'm a bit surprised by this, seeing that Johnson was disappointing last year (although he did play well when he was free of injury), I would expect Platt to be keen to sell the Welsh International. This move would also make sense in terms of leaving the centre of midfield free for David Prutton who would subsequently leave the right wing open for Ndlovu. The offer is still open to negotiation as far as Forest are concerned.

And last, but by no means least, Forest have also been linked with Hearts' midfield man Colin Cameron. Hearts are a club in dire financial circumstances, so it would seem Forest are trying to take advantage of the chance to grab the player known as "Mickey" at a reduced price. Cameron has 4 Caps with Scotland and is also club captain at Hearts so could be a great buy for the Reds. From what I've heard of him he's a similar player to Craig Hignett, who, surprise surprise, Platt was also interested in earlier in the summer. So maybe Cameron is the player Platt has been holding out for. Unfortunately history could repeat itself as, like with Hignett, Forest face competition from a richer club. This time Coventry, who have also shown an interest in Cameron recently.

I doubt anyone expected it to be a summer spending spree like those of Chelsea, Spurs and Leeds this season, but a little more transfer activity wouldn't go amiss at the City Ground. So far we've still only signed Gary Jones for the first team. But with any luck, next week I could be moaning about the fact that Forest have only signed Gary Jones AND Colin Cameron this summer.