Matz Sels should be on the bench again this evening against Everton. A complicated end to the year for the man who was voted Goalkeeper of the Year in the Premier League not so long ago.
The year 2025 for Matz Sels (33 years old) will have had two faces: last season, the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper was a key element of his club, which will obtain a historic result by seeking a European ticket by finishing 7th in the Premier League.
But this season, Nottingham is playing for its survival, is currently 17th in the championship… and Sels has even disappeared from the starting eleven. After a small groin injury in mid-December, the Red Devil did not return to the team.
Important for the World Cup
For Mike Vanhamel, the arrival of Sean Dyche at the head of Forest should have helped Sels. “The style of Nuno Espirito Santo suited Matz well, that of Ange Postecoglou much less. Dyche once again established a block game, and I find it surprising that Sels was dismissed,” analyzes the ex-Lierse goalkeeper in Sporza.
Vanhamel believes, however, that this situation could still evolve, and is probably linked to the small injury suffered by the Red Devil. “I refuse to believe that this choice of coach is final,” says the consultant. It was the Brazilian John Victor who took Matz Sels’ place between the poles, without making a strong impression.
For Sels, this sidelining comes as praise is raining down towards his competitor as number 2 of the Devils: Senne Lammens. Even Mike Penders, convincing in Strasbourg, is starting to threaten the man who was briefly number 1 before the return of Thibaut Courtois between the poles.