Town manager Gary O’Neil says summer signing Exequiel Palacios has been exceptional since he joined the club.

The Blues paid Bayer Leverkusen an initial £19.2 million for the Argentinian World Cup winner in August and the 28-year-old has quickly settled into life in the Premier League.

Last week, the midfielder dictating a passage of play as Town sought to get themselves back on terms at Manchester City went viral on social media.

“He’s exceptional,” O’Neil said. “I knew he was going to be good because of his record and because of what I’d seen when I watched him and he hasn’t let me down on any of that.

“I thought his performance last week at Manchester City, just when you talk about belief going somewhere like that, the amount of situations he took the ball in and looked after it and got us playing when he could. He’s a top, top player.

“He’s going to be a big one for us this year. We need to make sure we use him correctly. Really pleased with what he’s brought.

“A good decision, probably, not to start him against Fulham after the travel [from Argentina towards the end of the international break] and let him impact it from the bench and then to see him back in the starting XI at City, trying to dictate the play, even against a side that strong.

“And he’ll be big for us tomorrow, I would think, because Forest are fairly resolute in the way they defend so we’ll need some quality in those moments and he can definitely bring that for us.”

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