Nottingham Forest have submitted a proposal to Arsenal for full-back Nuno Tavares.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Steve Cooper’s side are prioritising the wing-back position, with talks underway with Tavares over a move to the City Ground.
The Reds currently have two out-and-out left wing-backs in Omar Richards and Harry Toffolo, but Richards is still yet to feature for the club after injury, with Toffolo facing a lengthy ban after breaking the FA’s betting regulations.
New signing Ola Aina has been playing out of position to provide cover, but Forest are still looking to sign another body in that department.
A potential deal for Tavares comes after Forest target Carlos Augusto signed a deal with Inter Milan, forcing the Reds to look elsewhere.
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Forest turn their attention to Nuno Tavares
Tavares is a name that Nottingham Forest fans may recognise.
The 23-year-old full-back played for the Gunners against the Reds in the FA Cup back in the club’s promotion-winning campaign.
Cooper’s side ran out 1-0 winners, with Tavares enduring a tough 27-minute spell against Djed Spence with the then Forest loanee turning the Portuguese defender inside out. He was subsequently taken off by Mikel Arteta and replaced by Kieran Tierney.
Since then, Tavares has enjoyed a positive spell out on loan at French side Marseille.
The wing-back featured 31 times on loan at Les Olympiens, scoring six times, including on his debut against Reims.
Arsenal man Tavares is predominately an attacking wing-back who likes to break forward and create opportunities as much as possible.
Defensively he’s not the greatest, but he does have bags of pace that can see him recover should he be beaten.
Rumour rating: 8/10 – With Fabrizio Romano confirming talks, a deal could be struck with Arsenal as they already have two other left-back options.
Should he join the Reds, Forest could be getting themselves a talented player who loves to contribute with goals and assists from wing-back. At 23, the defender will still improve and there is a lot to like about the player who has previously made 16 appearances for the Portugal under-21 outfit.