Thirteen signings & £180m spent - have Forest got value for money?

Have Nottingham Forest got value for money?

After a summer spend of about £180m, the Reds are 17th in the Premier League, just two points clear of the relegation zone and with their Europa League progress in doubt.

Boss Sean Dyche was frustrated after Thursday's 1-0 defeat in Braga left Forest needing a play-off next month to reach the last 16.

Striker Igor Jesus was the only summer signing to start in last Saturday's 0-0 draw at Arsenal - but Dyche will need to rotate his team at Brentford on Sunday (14:00 GMT) following the defeat in Portugal.

After finishing seventh and returning to Europe for the first time in 30 years last season, this was supposed to be another year of development. Instead, the spectre of relegation still looms.

"They had such a superpowered season last season, signed a load of players and everyone just expected it to carry on and it's not been that easy obviously," said Dyche following Thursday's loss in Braga.

Global sporting director Edu oversaw 11 permanent senior signings, with Omari Hutchinson's £37.5m arrival from Ipswich breaking the club's transfer record.

Additionally, Douglas Luiz and Oleksandr Zinchenko arrived on loan from Juventus and Arsenal respectively.

But the spending was not without issues. Edu wanted younger signings with greater resale value while then-manager Nuno Espirito Santo was unhappy he did not get Adama Traore rather than Hutchinson.

There were also a couple of major outgoings, with Anthony Elanga joining Newcastle for £55m and Danilo moving to Brazilian club Botafogo for £21m.

Of the 13 to arrive, only three have made more than 10 Premier League starts - Igor Jesus (14), Nicolo Savona (11) and Dan Ndoye (14).

James McAtee, who arrived from Manchester City for close to £30m, has made one league start and winger Dilane Bakwa three. Another major signing, £26m striker Arnaud Kalimuendo, has already been dispatched to Frankfurt after nine league appearances, all as a substitute.

Meanwhile, Zinchenko's loan spell is poised to be cancelled so he can join Ajax from Arsenal, while Chelsea are interested in taking Luiz.

The players have suffered from a chaotic start to the season, victims of circumstance, with Dyche their third manager following Nuno's departure and Ange Postecoglou's 39-day reign.

The combination of different personalities, styles and staff have made the adaptation to the Premier League harder but, even accepting those caveats, Dyche does not feel his fringe players have done themselves any favours.

After the FA Cup penalty shootout exit to Wrexham this month he called the performance "unacceptable to the badge".

Nine summer signings started - including McAtee, Bakwa, Jair Cunha and Luiz - with Dyche saying some would need to "look in the mirror".

On Thursday in Portugal, he felt some players again failed to prove themselves.

"I was expecting a bumpy road, mainly because of the squad of players and the varying competitions," he said.

"That's my frustration, they are building that bit of energy and belief and then it goes flat in a performance. The main frustration is we've seen them work all week.

"The players don't go out there to not make it spark or happen but no one is really gripping it. The players who are maybe not playing all the time in the Premier League [need] to go and grip these games and show me the staff and themselves that 'I'm ready'.

"There's only bits of that. There are no real markers laid down where I go 'right you are ready and next in'. We want that competition from the whole group."

Igor Jesus has been useful and has not got the goals his work-rate deserves.

The striker, a £10m signing from Botafogo, has eight goals as he deputises for the injured Chris Wood but only one in the top flight.

Hutchinson, left out of the European squad by Nuno, has needed to wait but ihas been shown trust by Dyche - finally given his first Premier League start for Forest in December.

In contrast, goalkeeper John Victor, another arrival from Botafogo, replaced Matz Sels - last season's joint Golden Glove winner - in goal but lasted just five games, culminating in a high-profile mistake at Aston Villa this month.

Dyche has urged perspective, saying the players need time to learn his methods and find consistency, but he has still relied on the stars of last season so it is fair to ask if this year's signings have taken them forward.

"If we survive in the Premier League this season, and that's a big if, they're going to have to learn a lot of lessons," said Matt Davies, host of the Forest Focus podcast.

"My worry is we're on season one of a downward spiral that becomes a Wolves or a West Ham, rather than getting back to where we were a year ago.

"If you have three managers by November, you're not going to have a good season. I think the writing was on the wall that this was going to be a bad season and we just have to get through it and learn lessons.

"We need to give these players more time to judge them. It looks bad right now but I think it's premature to write some of them off."