Press conferenceArne Slot: Wataru Endo is important to us, he always gives his all

The 31-year-old took up the role in last week’s Carabao Cup tie at Tottenham Hotspur after Jarell Quansah was substituted during the first half in London.

Endo then started Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup third-round tie against Accrington Stanley in the central defensive berth.

Asked what the No.3’s ability to slot into an unfamiliar position said about his professionalism, Slot told his pre-Nottingham Forest press conference: “That is clear.

“I asked Harvey [Elliott] to come into the room before we played that [Accrington] game because I know Harvey wants to get his chance in the No.10 position and because of, not the injuries we had but the players we didn’t have available, I had to play him from the right. He did that really well.

“For Wata it’s the same, but I didn’t even invite him in because I know what kind of person Wata is - and Harvey is also a very good person.

“Wherever you play him, Wata is like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do my best, whenever you play me.’ So, if it’s five minutes before the end, he comes in and gives everything he has.

“That might be normal for a lot of fans to hear, but for as long as I’ve been in football I’ve seen players who’ve had to come in five minutes before the end also doing different things and showing different energy than Wata shows.

“He is an important part of our team. Every time we need him, in the midfield or even now as a centre-back because I didn’t want to bring Ibou [Konate] in two days after he played against [Manchester] United and after 20 minutes we’d already have to make the substitution.

“He did really well, Wata - and the moment I took him out of our last line [at Tottenham], we conceded!”