Felipe joins Renan Lodi at Nottingham Forest

Atlético Madrid’s sparingly-used defender Felipe Monteiro has joined free-spending Premier League side Nottingham Forest in a deadline day deal.

Felipe’s contract was due to expire this summer, and rumors had persistently linked him with a move away this month. Diego Simeone did not count on the player all season — the Brazilian made only four appearances and looked even further removed from the form he displayed during his first season with the club, back in 2019/20.

Mario Hermoso’s surprising return to form further reduced any chance Felipe had to garner more minutes than the 284 he played between LaLiga and the Champions League. The 33-year-old’s Atlético career has ended after 113 appearances and four goals across four seasons — not to mention the 2020/21 league title.

Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images

Felipe will now link up with countryman and former teammate Renan Lodi while at Forest as the Atieti exodus rolls on. The club moved three players to the Premier League in the January window — Matheus Cunha joined Wolves at the start of the month and João Félix followed, departing on loan to Chelsea. Intriguingly, Felipe immediately drops into a relegation fight — Forest are 13th in the Premier League with 21 points from 20 games, but the Tricky Trees sit only four points clear of the drop.

With this newly-created space in the squad, Atlético were able to finalize a short-term contract with ex-Tottenham Hotspur right-back Matt Doherty. Reports had said Leicester center-back Çağlar Söyüncü would join the Rojiblancos if Felipe departed, but Fabrizio Romano tweeted Tuesday that this is no longer a possibility for January. Instead, Söyüncü is now expected to join Atlético on a free transfer next summer.