On February 1 last year, Forest announced the signing of Matz Sels from Ligue 1 club Strasbourg for a transfer fee of around £5 million.
Matt Turner had arrived from Arsenal for £10m the previous summer, while Forest also bought Odysseas Vlachodimos from Benfica.
Turner made 21 appearances in all competitions and Vlachodimos seven before Nuno – who replaced Steve Cooper in December 2023 – moved to Sels.
The Belgian newcomer managed just one goal – against West Ham – and conceded 27 goals as Forest survived.
But with the addition of Milenkovic and Morato in defense in the summer, joining the impressive Brazilian Murillo at the City Ground, they now boast one of the tightest defensive lines.
“Forest will do well to keep Murillo for the long term. He’s an incredible young player,” said Morgan, who is now a national scout at Forest and played over 400 games for the Reds before moving to Leicester.
“Milenkovic came and simply complemented him. The positioning between both players is good and I think that is the key to a successful defense.”
Morgan related it to the partnership he and Robert Huth had at Leicester, adding: “That understanding between me and Huthy, we could play with our eyes closed and I knew exactly where he would be. This also applies to Murillo and Milenkovic.” “
The defensive unit, which includes Sels, Ola Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato and Neco Williams, has cost Forest just over £50m.
Along with Liverpool, Forest have conceded just 19 goals in 20 games – only Arsenal have conceded fewer.
“The championship is not over yet and we want to make sure that the number of goals conceded continues to increase,” says Morato, underlining the determination of the team, which has played the most games without conceding a goal in the league this season with 563.
Sels faced 259 shots, level with Crystal Palace's Dean Henderson and only behind Brentford's Mark Flekken with 342 and Leicester's Mads Hermansen, who hit 287 shots.
Not all of those shots hit the target, but Sels was kept busy enough and performed excellently. He has a save rate of 75.3%, which is the highest of any goalkeeper who has played more than 500 minutes in the Premier League.
The expected goals against Forest this season – 21.7 – are also only beaten by Liverpool and Arsenal.
The effect of Sels was immediate. Since February 1, Forest have conceded 46 goals in the Premier League, with only Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool bettering that figure.
