Nottingham Forest are interested in signing a £25 million international defender ahead of Premier League rivals Newcastle United, according to a recent report.
It has been an excellent 2024/25 season for the Reds so far, as they are probably the surprise package of the campaign, but with January not that far away now, Nuno Espirito Santo and co seemingly have their eye on potential transfer targets.
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Nottingham Forest transfer news
Forest will hope that when January arrives, they are still in the top half of the table and are mounting a challenge for what could be an unexpected European spot. Nuno will not want to disrupt the squad too much, but adding one or two players may be on his mind.
The Reds are reportedly interested in signing Marwan Al-Sahafi from Al-Ittihad. He joined Belgian side Beerschot on loan in the summer and has been catching the eye with his performances, so much so that Forest and La Liga side Real Sociedad are keeping a close eye on him. As well as Al-Sahafi, it has recently emerged that Forest are interested in signing Manchester City’s James McAtee.
There are a host of clubs from England and abroad keeping an eye on his situation at the Etihad, but given his lack of game time, he could be allowed to leave in January for a fee of roughly £20 million. This has got Nuno’s side interested, but as well as looking at improving the team going forward, the Forest boss also has his eye on adding more options to his defence.
Nottingham Forest eyeing move to sign £25m Joel Ordonez
According to TBR Football, Nottingham Forest are eyeing a move to sign Joel Ordonez from Club Brugge in January. The Ecuador international, who has four caps to his name, has been playing in Belgium since 2022 but only joined Brugge last year and is also wanted by Newcastle.
The Belgian side were patient with the 20-year-old last season, but in this current 2024/25 campaign, he has become a key player, starting 13 of the 14 games he has played in all competitions. Ordonez has performed very well in Europe as well, starting all four of Brugge’s Champions League fixtures, two of which they have won, and one was against Aston Villa.
Villa have also been mentioned with an interest in Ordonez, but this new report adds that Forest are also interested in signing the centre-back. The Reds, Newcastle and Villa are not the only teams keen, with Brentford, Wolves and Brighton also named in the update.
Forest could be interested in making a move in January, but it would be an expensive capture, as it’s been claimed that Brugge values Ordonez at €30 million, which is roughly £25 million. This would be a risky signing for Nuno’s side, given he hasn’t played in England and the Premier League before, but at his age, he has a lot of time to develop into a very good central defender.
