Nottingham Forest are the kings when it comes to flexing their muscles in the transfer market and their return to the Premier League in 2022 only accentuated that claim.

To readily equip themselves for a battle against relegation, the Reds sought to sign 30 new players across the summer and January window.

Although there were some success stories, namely Morgan Gibbs-White, Taiwo Awoniyi, Serge Aurier and Keylor Navas, most of their signings have rarely featured since joining the club, or have already departed.

Jesse Lingard, for instance, was Forest's third-highest earner on £80k-per-week, as per Capology, but the hype surrounding him proved to weigh too heavy on his shoulders as he failed to register a single goal contribution in the Premier League and has since been released by the club.

While the careers of centre-back Guilian Biancone and Andre Ayew followed a similar narrative on Trentside, there were a few big money deals who haven't repaid that price tag with their performances and are still on the books at the club.

Emmanuel Dennis is the biggest name that springs to mind.

How much did Nottingham Forest sign Emmanuel Dennis for?

Watford were relegated from the Premier League in 2022, but Emmanuel Dennis did his best to keep the Hornets afloat, chalking up an impressive ten goals and six assists in the 2021/22 campaign.

While his efforts to single-handedly rescue the Hertfordshire side would ultimately be in vain, the Nigerian did draw superlatives from all corners of the footballing world, as Michael Owen praised the clubs' hierarchy for unearthing him from Club Brugge following their 1-0 victory over Aston Villa.

He said: "Dennis, what a player, what a signing he’s been in the Premier League this season, great finish again from him.”

The plaudits didn't stop there as his own manager, Claudio Ranieri, previously confessed to the club's official website that they had missed the qualities of the Super Eagle during his suspension.

“[Dennis] is a very talented player. He’s fast, has good skill, always runs straight to the goal – I love these kinds of players.”

On the back of his impressive debut season in the top flight and the heaps of praise directed towards him, several clubs were interested in his signature – including Brentford and Crystal Palace – but it was Nottingham Forest who managed to win the race and land him for a fee believed to be in the region of £20m.

Forest acquired Dennis when his stock was at its highest and therefore paid him £40k-per-week in wages, accumulating to just over £2m across his first year at City Ground.

How many goals did Emmanuel Dennis score for Forest?

When combining his wages with his transfer fee, the Reds shelled out £22m in one season for Dennis, and it's fair to say – they would want to recoup that money in a heartbeat.

With Brennan Johnson, Morgan Gibbs-White and Awoniyi predominantly occupying positions in the forward areas, the 25-year-old was instantly frozen out of Cooper's plans, but he still had a chance to feature for the club regularly if his effort and application was there. Unfortunately, it was severely lacking.

Accustomed to being the main man at Watford alongside Ismaila Sarr and Joao Pedro, Dennis wasn't used to being an outcast and having to work hard for his placing in the starting XI, so when his opportunity eventually did arise, he didn't take his chance and was slammed for his performance after a 3-0 defeat against Manchester United.

In a particularly toothless display against the Red Devils, in which Awoniyi and Dennis failed to register an attempt on goal across the match, the latter's 27-minute cameo was criticized by journalist Lee Clarke who said in an article: "Dennis shouldn't play for Forest again".

Across his debut campaign on Trentside, the former Watford man featured on 25 occasions for Steve Cooper's side, but he only managed to score two goals, costing the club a staggering £12.5m per goal.

Currently on loan at Turkish Süper Lig outfit Istanbul Basaksehir, he is on a path to resurrect his career as he aims to put an end to his disastrous spell at the City Ground. That said, it would be surprised if we ever saw him in Garibaldi Red again.