Nottingham Forest are ready to rival Fulham for Brazilian wonderkid Pablo Maia, according to a report in Brazil by Lance.
The player is likely to cost around £9 million and Fulham have already had one bid knocked back.
Now, other suitors are thought to be monitoring the situation, with Forest particularly keen.
It wouldn’t be a complete surprise to see Forest tackle the Brazilian market once again.
The club have already agreed on a deal with Gustavo Scarpa and he will join in January when his Palmeiras deal expires.
Maia is a different sort of player and he typically operates in the middle of the park.
The 20-year-old is a defence-minded performer and he typically operates as the anchor man protecting the back four.
During 2022 he made 64 appearances and collected 12 yellow cards during his time on the pitch.
He has chipped in with three goals for Sao Paolo and he will be sorely missed if they do decide to sell him.
Maia is set for a seriously bright future in the professional game and a move to Europe looks highly likely.
His current club hope to recoup £9 million for his services. Now, it would seem that Forest and Fulham are competing for his services.
The Reds did sign a plethora of midfield options during the summer.
Lewis O’Brien, Orel Mangala, Cheikhou Kouyate and Remo Freuler were all added to the ranks by Steve Cooper.
As a result, it would be interesting to see what the plan was for Maia if he heads to the City Ground.
Forest to rival Fulham for Maia
The Reds don’t appear to be showing any signs of slowing down their spending in January.
For Evangelos Marinakis the hope will be that Forest are still in touch with their relegation rivals and signing players won’t be an issue.
Maia would be a useful signing.
A team can never have too many decent young players and Maia is definitely one for the future.
The youngster won’t be short of suitors and it will be interesting to see whether Forest can get this one over the line.
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