Nottingham Forest eyeing surprise move for £15m player from relegated Premier League club.

Nottingham Forest are already plotting their summer transfer business.

 

Despite Nottingham Forest’s disappointing draw against Leicester City on the weekend, it did secure qualification for the UEFA Conference League.

As such, Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad will have to be bulked up in the summer to deal with the congested fixture list next season.

 

It’s understood Forest want to sign a striker to provide Chris Wood with support and Bournemouth’s Evanilson has been linked to the City Ground.

 

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is also on Forest’s radar, with the Premier League champions demanding around £34m.

Nottingham Forest have been in the market for a midfielder, with Juventus star Douglas Luiz liked by Espirito Santo.

 

Now, according to the Telegraph, Forest are seriously considering a move for Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes.

It’s understood club scouts have been watching Fernandes over the past year, and they see his profile suiting Espirito Santo’s system.

 

The 20-year-old has been one of Saints’ only shining lights, along with teenage winger Tyler Dibling, who is attracting widespread interest around the league.

 

Fernandes has been capped 13 times by Portugal’s under-21s.

Southampton outlaid £15m on Fernandes’ signature last summer, as he made the switch from Portuguese giants Sporting.

There is no word on how much the south coasters will demand to sanction his sale, however, they’ll likely want to earn a healthy profit.

That said, a fee of around £30m would likely get a deal done, and that will be very feasible for Forest, who are believed to be in a good position PSR-wise.

The added boost of European football is set to increase the transfer budget this summer.

Nathan Hassett

Little was known about Tyler Bindon when Nottingham Forest signed him in January, but the New Zealand international will arrive for pre-season amid plenty of excitement.

 

When it was announced that Forest had signed Bindon on deadline day, the initial confusion from Reds fans quickly turned to excitement, given how highly Reading supporters spoke of him.