Nottingham Forest are being linked with a move for Hull City winger Kamil Grosicki, and he could offer a considerable upgrade on the flanks.
According to The Sun, the Reds are mulling over a summer swoop for the Pole.
A £2.5 million approach is being mooted for a man approaching the final year of his contract at the KCOM Stadium.
If a deal could be done, then it is one that makes a lot of sense.
Forest are in need of greater creativity.
Joe Lolley and Joao Carvalho are more than capable performers, but they need others to help carry the load.
Grosicki would tick that box.
He is about to celebrate his 31st birthday, so is no spring chicken, but still has plenty of miles left on the clock.
Martin O’Neill is also in need of a few ready-made additions.
Impact
Keeping one eye on the future is all well and good, but that should not be at the detriment of the present.
If proven performers can be acquired to make an immediate impact, then they must be snapped up.
Grosicki would add useful experience to the Reds’ ranks and undoubted end product.
He has often been used on the left by Hull, but is capable of switching to the opposite wing as a right-footer.
Having him on the books would present a number of options to O’Neill.
The Forest boss could go with Grosicki on the left and Lolley on the right, allowing them to cut inside onto their favoured boot.
Or, he could switch them and seek more natural width.
There would even be the possibility of making those tweaks mid-game in an effort to keep opponents guessing.
That versatility, added to the numbers posted by Grosicki in 2018-19, would represent a move in the right direction for Forest.
Improvement
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It is not difficult to argue that any new wideman could be compared with Matty Cash.
And there is certainly scope for improvement there.
A 21-year-old academy graduate managed six goals and one assist through 36 Championship appearances in the season just gone.
In contrast, Grosicki found the target nine times in 39 outings and teed up a 12 further efforts for grateful team-mates.
He created 73 chances in total, while Cash mustered only 30, while he also tips the scales heading the other way, with more recoveries made (157 to 114) and better tackle success boasted.
Grosicki, in a side which finished four places below Forest, was more Lolley-esque in 2018-19.
That may be of concern to Cash, but there is no room for sentiment here.
Home-grown talent should always have a place in plans and hearts at the City Ground.
Sometimes, though, tough calls are required for the greater good and Grosicki appears to be an option that is worth exploring.
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