Oleksandr Zinchenko and Douglas Luiz face an uncertain January at Nottingham Forest despite both agreeing season-long loan deals last summer.
The high-profile duo were among 12 signings as Forest embarked on an ambitious campaign before the start of the season. Yet with Forest having sacked two managers before the end of October, both have seen their playing time limited.
Zinchenko joined from Arsenal at the end of August but Daily Mail Sport can reveal there have been conversations about whether he will continue at Forest or complete the season elsewhere. It is believed there is no break clause in the loan deal and a return to Arsenal would seem unlikely at this stage.
Nothing at this stage is decided, especially as Zinchenko and Neco Williams are the only two orthodox left-backs currently available to boss Sean Dyche.
As reported by Daily Mail Sport in December, Forest are obliged to buy Douglas Luiz for about £23million if he makes 15 appearances of at least 45 minutes each. So far, the Brazilian, who belongs to Juventus, has clocked up 10. At this stage, Juventus sources say the terms of the loan are unchanged yet with more than a fortnight left of the window, that position could still shift.
The pair’s most recent appearances for Forest were in the FA Cup defeat at Wrexham, when Zinchenko was taken off at half-time.
After Forest lost on penalties, Dyche said: ‘They all knock on the door and say, “Why aren’t I playing?”. Well the evidence is quite honestly there for some, not for all.
‘You can’t do that in the first half, it’s completely unacceptable. It’s unacceptable to me, but I said you have to look in the mirror because that’s unacceptable to the badge as well.
‘I could have taken all of them off [at half-time]. They showed their hand and won’t be knocking on my door saying “Why aren’t I playing?” again, that’s for sure, that first-half group.’
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