Sunderland are preparing to offer big wages in an attempt to land Nottingham Forest target Joe Pigott on a free transfer, according to the Portsmouth News.
The report says that the Black Cats are in the driving seat to land the striker. He is currently without a club after leaving AFC Wimbledon.
Furthermore, it claims that Bristol City and Luton have already held talks with the 27-year-old talisman.
Portsmouth were also keen but they can’t compete with the Championship duo; or the financial package set to be proposed by Sunderland.
Forest were linked with a move for Pigott in February. Back then he would have commanded a fee, with six months remaining on his contract.
Pigott enjoyed a sound campaign during 2020/21. He scored 22 goals and claimed five assists, with Wimbledon surviving relegation.
He’s only actually made 12 Championship appearances during his career. They came during his time at Charlton where he scored once.
Pigott has developed his game in the lower leagues, however, and now looks ready for a step up.
Sunderland look set to offer some decent wages in an attempt to land the striker. That would see him stay in League One though and at 27, he might opt to head straight to the Championship.
Could Forest jump back into the race for Pigott?
If the Reds remained keen there’s a chance that they’d have held talks along with the other interested Championship clubs.
As a result, it perhaps seems as though Forest have other irons in the fire instead.
Pigott would have been an interesting addition. He clearly knows where the back of the net is and would arrive ahead of his prime.
It does seem interesting as to who Forest will end up with. Plenty of their January links now look off the table and perhaps the Reds are quietly going about some business behind the scenes.
Forest will want to act pretty quickly though, despite the fact that it seems as though Pigott isn’t an active target.