Ex-Juventus defender Savona earns Premier League debut sooner than expected

Originally posted on Football Italia | By Peter Young | Last updated Sep 13, 2025 8:26 AM ET

Former Juventus defender Nicolo Savona has earned his Premier League debut sooner than originally expected, as he came on for defender Murillo during the first half of Arsenal-Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.

Savona joined Nottingham Forest from Juventus at the end of the summer transfer window for a fee just above the €15m mark, following his breakthrough season in Turin under Thiago Motta and Igor Tudor in 2024-25.

It has been a hectic two weeks for Forest since then, with the sacking of head coach Nuno Espirito Santo after three games of the 2025-26 season and the subsequent appointment of Ange Postecoglu.

Savona on for early Nottingham Forest debut

Savona had been named among the substitutes for the Premier League clash between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest in the early kick-off on Saturday afternoon. He was not included in the matchday squad for Forest’s 3-0 loss against West Ham on August 31, the day after his transfer from Juve was announced.

Though he was not originally expected to play a major role against Arsenal on Saturday, the Italian was thrown in after 37 minutes as a replacement for Murillo, who was forced off with a knock.

Savona assumed his regular position at full-back, while Morato, who had originally started at left-back for Forest, shuffled into the middle alongside former Fiorentina centre-back Nikola Milenkovic.

There was another Italian on the pitch at the time in Riccardo Calafiori, who started his fourth Premier League game in a row at left-back for Arsenal.

This article first appeared on Football Italia and was syndicated with permission.

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