Nottingham Forest signed 22 new players ahead of their return to the Premier League during the summer transfer window and it's safe to say the new-built squad hasn't had the desired effect so far.

The Tricky Trees have spent the large majority of their top-flight campaign so far in the relegation zone after failing to make their presence known in their first 15 league outings and there have already been repercussions due to the failure to hit the ground running.

Both the head of recruitment and head of scouting were sacked by Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis following a review of the recruitment over the summer with not only many players failing to make an impact but key targets missed which could cost the club their top-tier status at the end of the season.

One player the club was linked to in the transfer window was Tottenham Hotspur centre-back, Joe Rodon, with the player eventually making a season-long loan move to Stade Rennais.

The talented defender would have been the perfect profile of player to help out Nottingham Forest's leaky defence as the side has conceded the second-highest number of goals in the Premier League this term and would have certainly been a better option than former Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-back Willy Boly.

When you compare the two player's output over this season so far Rodon has outperformed Boly in many attributes including pass completion rate (89.1% v 77.6%), aerial duels won (56.8% v 50%), tackles and interceptions won combined (11 v 5).

Rodon has been the recipient of high praise over his career so far with former Spurs manager Jose Mourinho hailing the Welshman when he was coaching the player:

"He’s perfect, works very hard, young guy, wants to learn, very enthusiastic," Mourinho said.

The defender, who could sign for Rennes in a deal worth £16.7m, has also been playing a crucial role in the Wales backline at the World Cup and has proved yet again that Forest made a mistake by not snapping up his services when they had the chance to.

Over two World Cup appearances so far, Rodon has been seriously composed with a 95% pass completion rate in his own half.

Furthermore, he has won 50% of his duels, as well as averaging 1.5 interceptions, one tackle and a whopping 5.5 clearances per game, proving further that he is a solid and reliable defender.

With that being said, there is no doubt that the powers at The City Ground will be regretting they were not able to secure a deal for Rodon as he could have been a key player in their pursuit of becoming an established Premier League side.