Nottingham Forest have their own Joelinton story as former Newcastle United flop hailed as 'extraordinary'

Sometimes in life you just have to admit when you were wrong, and I have to do that right now. When Newcastle United signed Odysseas Vlachodimos from Nottingham Forest for £20 million in the summer, I made a joke which I would very much like to walk back right now.

I questioned why we'd want a goalkeeper who was ousted from his place at Nottingham Forest by one of the worst goalkeepers to ever grace Newcastle United's starting lineup - Matz Sels.

Not only was I having a pop at Sels, but also making a snide suggestion that Forest were nowhere near as good as Newcastle, so why would we want someone who wasn't good enough for them?

Man, do I feel stupid now. Nottingham Forest are flying in the Premier League and a lot of that is down to the form of Belgian stopper Matz Sels.

Matz Sels has kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper this season so far

I still stand by the statements about Vlachodimos and Sels - we didn't want the former and the latter was absolute garbage at Newcastle.

However, now, Matz Sels is up there as one of the best 'keepers in the Premier League and actually sits atop the charts for clean sheets, extending his lead ahead of Arsenal's David Raya after keeping Manchester City at bay yesterday.

It's a feat that didn't go unnoticed by Match of the Day last night with Gary Lineker taking the time to praise Sels.

“A quick line on Matz Sels there, I mean that is extraordinary isn’t it this season [most clean sheets]/"

The only thing more impressive than Matz Sels form is the form of his team as a whole

It's a footballing glow up of Joelinton proportions, except Sels didn't have to change position to find his form. You could even apply that to Nottingham Forest as a whole.

For all they have spent a lot of money since returning to the Premier League, they've gone for what appeared to be a quantity over quality approach, and now that they've trimmed the squad and kept the quality they've unearthed, they are the ultimate surprise package.

Who had them being anywhere near the top three this season? Be honest.