Nottingham Forest wanted to sign Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont before they eventually plumped for Arsenal stopper Matt Turner. The Reds were weighing up several options before eventually going for the Arsenal backup.
According to Ouest-France, the Reds had Lafont in their sights. It’s believed that Forest weren’t the only club willing to take a chance on the player with other clubs interested too.
Forest did eventually get their goalkeeping situation sorted ahead of the new campaign. They signed Turner to bolster their ranks after chasing Dean Henderson all summer.
The 26-year-old was on the bench last night for Manchester United. Despite Erik ten Hag suggesting that he’s not yet fit to play, it would appear that he could have a future at the club once again.
Lafont would have been an interesting signing for Forest. He has been with Nantes since 2021 when he checked in from Fiorentina who he signed for after leaving Toulouse.
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The 24-year-old has established himself as the number-one goalkeeper with the Ligue 1 side, making 157 appearances for the club. During 2022/23, he made 48 appearances in total and kept an impressive 13 clean sheets.
His 2023/24 campaign got off to the worst possible start. He picked up a collapsed lung in the 67th minute against Toulouse and will now miss two months of action for Nantes.
Forest wanted Lafont before signing Turner from Arsenal
This would have been a very decent signing indeed. Forest were clearly leaving no stone unturned in their quest to sign a new goalkeeper and once again looked at the French market.
Brice Samba was the last stopper to arrive from France. He checked in from Caen and quickly became a cult hero on Trentside and last season helped Lens reach the Champions League.
Lafont has earned praise during his career. Gregory Coupet has worked with him before and he called him ‘smart’, whilst Bernard Diomede said he was ‘good with both feet’.
Forest will be in the market for another goalkeeper this month. Steve Cooper doesn’t seem to fancy Ethan Horvath a great deal and the Reds will want competition for Turner.
It won’t be Lafont though. His injury will keep him sidelined for around two months and Forest will want a new goalkeeper and come in to challenge Turner immediately.