Nottingham Forest are now chasing the signing of an “elusive” £30m forward, but there could be competition from their Premier League rivals, according to a report.
Forest pursuing new forwards as Nuno prepares for Europe
Forest’s Champions League aspirations have taken a hit in recent weeks, succumbing to back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, although they remain in a strong position to secure a top-five finish.
However, should the Tricky Trees achieve their goal of Champions League qualification, they may have to strengthen their squad in order to be competitive, and they appear to be particularly keen on strengthening in attacking areas.
Nuno’s side are eager to bring in a new striker, with owner Evangelos Marinakis now ready to pay £75m for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Matheus Cunha, given the Brazilian’s impressive campaign in the Premier League.
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There is also a desire to strengthen in wide areas, with Marseille’s Luis Henrique among the main targets, and there has now been a development in Forest’s pursuit of the winger, having made contact with his agents.
Henrique is not the only option, however, with a report from Turkey revealing that Nottingham Forest are now in the picture to sign Galatasaray’s Baris Alper Yilmaz, who has been a major target for West Ham United for quite some time.
The Hammers made a €25m (£21m) bid for Yilmaz back in January, which was knocked back, with the Turkish club looking to hold out for €35m (£30m), and the Tricky Trees are now positioning themselves to potentially hijack the move.
Napoli are also in the race for the 24-year-old, who is seemingly set to leave Galatasaray at the end of the season, with the report stating he is ‘set to pack his bags’.
“Elusive” Yilmaz impressing in Turkey
The left-winger has established himself as a key player for Galatasaray during their Turkish Süper Lig title push this season, making 28 league appearances and picking up ten goals and three assists.
Not only does the Turkey international have a keen eye for goal, but he has showcased his dribbling, aerial and tackling ability over the past year, ranking in a very high percentile on each metric when compared to others in his position.
|
Statistic |
Average per 90 |
|
Tackles |
1.97 (88th percentile) |
|
Aerials won |
2.89 (99th percentile) |
|
Progressive carries |
5.09 (85th percentile) |
There are also clear signs the Galatasaray star could be capable of making an instant impact at Premier League level, given that he gave Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk a very tough time in the quarter-final of Euro 2024.
Van Dijk said: “Baris Alper Yilmaz was running constantly. He was running elusive. It was difficult for every defender. He made it very hard for us. He couldn’t score a goal though. If we were to describe him in any way, he is a really important player.”
Yilmaz could be an excellent signing for Forest this summer, and European qualification would surely give them the edge over West Ham in the race for his signature.
