Former Nottingham Forest defender Cyrus Christie is set to sign for Swansea City, according to TalkSPORT reporter Alex Crook. The right-back has rejected the advances of Cardiff to sign for their Welsh rivals.
Christie spent last season on loan with Forest. He was added by Sabri Lamouchi in August 2020 and became an integral part of the team under Chris Hughton.
He made 44 appearances for the Reds, registering five assists during the 2020/21 campaign. Forest chose not to sign him permanently, however, with the player returning to Fulham.
This season has been a struggle. He’s failed to make a single appearance in the league, making one outing in the Carabao Cup against Leeds.
Now, he looks set to leave Craven Cottage. It is thought that Christie will sign for the Swans on a permanent basis, ending a four-year association with the Cottagers.
Christie helped the club win promotion during 2019/20. Fulham defeated Brentford in the Championship Play-Off Final and he made 30 appearances that season.
The 29-year-old is a steady Championship operator. He has played for Coventry, Derby and Middlesbrough in the second tier.
Christie has 29 caps for the Republic of Ireland and he will leave Fulham having made 68 appearances for the club in total.
Forest were right to move on from Christie
It’s quite easy to see why the Reds allowed Christie to return to Fulham. Clearly, the club had other irons in the fire, most notably Djed Spence.
Christie takes home £20,000-a-week and that would hardly have made for a cheap signing for Forest. Dane Murphy has been keen to lower the wage bill and the club did a good job of that in the summer.
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The experienced performer can play though. He grew into his time at Forest and got better as the season progressed.
Forest have now added Richie Laryea to their ranks and he’s arguably a better signing than what Christie would have proved.
He is younger, suits the wing-back role better and ultimately, he’s owned by Forest as opposed to being on loan.