Omar Richards was the fifth signing made by Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2022 as they prepared for life back in the Premier League.The addition of a defender who was viewed as one of the brightest young players in English football during his time coming through the ranks at Reading, was one of many statements of intent the club made during a window, which saw Forest make 22 signings in a £150million recruitment drive.Following yesterday’s confirmation of Willy Boly’s departure at the end of his contract, only four of those signings still remain.It was no surprise to see three of those — Neco Williams, Taiwo Awoniyi and Morgan Gibbs-White — named on the retained list but the inclusion of Richards was unexpected.Forest paid £7.3million to sign the left back from German giants Bayern Munich, with Richards agreeing a contract that would run until 2026 — this summer.And it was widely anticipated that the defender — who has suffered serious bad luck with injuries — would get the opportunity to rejuvenate his career elsewhere.But four years later, while he has yet to make a first-team appearance for Forest, he is still their player.So why is he still a Forest player?Richards is still tied to the club for the coming campaign after signing a contract extension, which was not made public by the club, before his most recent loan move to Rio Ave in Portugal’s top flight.There are many reasons why the club — who have not revealed their reasoning — might have extended his contract, including to protect his value so he does not leave for free at the end of his deal. Or to spread the cost of the deal over a longer term to help them meet financial restrictions’Why has he not yet played a game for the club?There is a significant element of misfortune involved here, for a player who arrived at the City Ground hoping to establish himself as a Premier League player.