When Nuno Espírito Santo and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis held talks before the January transfer window, there was only one objective for the weeks ahead. Keeping Forest’s stars together was the absolute priority, and that is why last month will be regarded as another huge success in their season as Nuno hunts down Champions League football.

It can be revealed that Chelsea were targeting a swoop for Brazilian centre-back Murillo early in January, but Marinakis refused to consider what would have been a record sale. Murillo, a £10.1 million signing from Corinthians in August 2023, has been on Chelsea’s radar for some time and Forest became aware of their interest when the window opened.

Yet the prospect of a move was swiftly shut down after an initial inquiry and Murillo has since signed a lucrative new contract, committing his future to Forest and intent on helping drive the club’s pursuit of European football. Marinakis was determined to fight off any other approaches, regardless of the size of the offer.

Anthony Elanga, the £13.5 million winger, was the subject of a big bid from Newcastle in the summer and has interest from other Premier League clubs, but selling him in January was never in Forest’s plans. With the window now closed, Forest will prepare for the remainder of the season with their squad intact.

Forest did experience frustration in their bid to sign a new forward, with Brentford maintaining a similar stance by refusing to entertain a deal for Yoane Wissa. The Congolese attacker has been a target for Forest across the last two transfer windows, and a proposal of around £18 million, plus add-ons, was turned down on January 21.

Talks were held last week through intermediaries over potentially reviving the deal, but Brentford made it clear that Wissa was not for sale. Forest are expected to revisit their interest in the summer. The 28-year-old appeals to Nuno and the recruitment department for his versatility as a forward who can play across the front three.

Marinakis did make it clear that funds were available for other players, but Nuno prefers to operate with a small, balanced squad. Perhaps more importantly, the prospect of disrupting team spirit by bringing in a rushed signing who does not fit into the dressing-room ethos was a risk Nuno did not want to take.

“We cannot afford mistakes” has been consistently repeated in his press conferences when asked about transfer business.

There is now a degree of pressure on leading scorer Chris Wood to remain fit for the final 14 league games, but Nuno does have other options. Taiwo Awoniyi, the Nigeria international, was briefly of interest to West Ham but was never remotely close to moving clubs.

There was little other activity, aside from James Ward-Prowse returning to West Ham United after his loan was mutually cancelled. The recent returns of Danilo and Ibrahim Sangaré from injury placed the midfielder further down the pecking order.

Difference in strategy

Forest have established a reputation for late drama on previous deadline days but this time it was all relatively quiet. This underlines a new maturity, refusal to be impulsive and joined-up thinking between departments.

Manchester City’s teenage winger Joel Ndala arrived late in the day on an initial loan after cutting short his spell with PSV Eindhoven’s reserves, but his move is regarded as a signing for the academy.

Recruitment has played a huge part in Forest’s success this season. Signings to stand out have included Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic (£10.1m from Fiorentina), Ola Aina (free transfer), Callum Hudson-Odoi (£3m from Chelsea), Elliot Anderson (£15m from Newcastle) and former record buy Morgan Gibbs-White (£25m from Wolves). Forest estimate some of those players to have seen their transfer value escalate to over £60 million.

There is a clear difference in strategy from when the club was promoted from the Championship in 2022. Marquee signings in the past such as Jesse Lingard and Divock Origi have not worked out, and there has been a shift towards young, ambitious and athletic players.

The presence of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) is also a constant concern for clubs, with Forest sustaining a four-point deduction themselves last season. Nuno said: “It has had a massive effect on transfers, not only for January but also for June.

“PSR is present in the lives of football clubs these days and they have to keep looking at it. It has now changed everything for everybody. Nobody wants to risk a situation like we had last season, so that’s why you sometimes see things that don’t make much sense.”

Transfer plans for the summer are already well advanced, and talks over a new contract for Nuno are on the radar. He endured a difficult first season but is in contention for manager of the year after this stellar campaign. The Portuguese has just under 18 months left on his deal and Forest are set to instigate talks over improved terms.

Hierarchy driving win-at-all-costs mindset

As deadline day unfolded in England, Nuno and Forest’s squad were training in the broiling temperatures of Dubai on a mid-season break. Nuno regularly took his players away for a “reset” around this time of year at former club Wolverhampton Wanderers, and believes it will be vital in preparation for the second half of the season.

Forest return to Premier League duty on February 15 at Fulham, with the club third in the table. After a 5-0 battering at Bournemouth, Forest produced one of the results of the season by thrashing Brighton 7-0 in their last outing.

Potentially pivotal games are ahead: they face four of the teams who have beaten them this season in a row, with matches against Fulham, Newcastle United, Arsenal and Man City.

Marinakis’s ambition is relentless and he will demand that standards remain sky-high. After the 1-1 draw with league leaders Liverpool last month, Marinakis and other senior figures in the hierarchy were disappointed. They are driving a mindset of winning at all costs, and want the players to always remember that Forest is a big club who should be frequently battling at the top of the table.

After retaining all of their stars, the prospect of Forest returning to European excursions, for the first time since 1996, is very much alive.