Nottingham Forest are trying to finalise their squad this summer but it’s not just incoming transfers that are dominating the news.
Forest are under no illusions that in order to keep signing players, they will have to keep cutting their cloth accordingly and offloading players too.
With PSR lurking around the corner of every Premier League club – and in particular the ones who aren’t part of the big six – Forest know that every penny must be watched these days.
Forest have a number of players who are deemed surplus. Joe Worrall, Emmanuel Dennis and Josh Bowler are now currently training with the first team and have been told they can go.
However, there is still some interest in some of the club’s first-choice players and now details over another possible sale have emerged.
Nottingham Forest star Neco Williams wanted by Atalanta
According to Fabrizio Romano and Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari, the Reds full-back is now a wanted man.
Romano claims that Atalanta have seen a bid rejected ahead of their Champions League campaign, with Forest standing firm on their validation.
Williams is thought to be valued at £30 million, according to Longari – with Forest unwilling to budge on that valuation.
Williams was vastly improved last season after initially struggling for form when he first signed for £17 million from Liverpool.
During the 2023/24 campaign, he made 32 appearances in total – with 26 of those coming in the Premier League.
It appeared as though Nuno Espirito Santo fancied Williams as his regular right-back but with these links surfacing, perhaps there is some room for manoeuvres.
Former Forest and Wales defender Chris Gunter is a huge fan of Williams, calling him ‘quality’ in November 2022 following some fine form for Wales.
Forest could live without Williams – but the price must be right
Williams signed at a time when fans were hoping to see Djed Spence sign on a permanent basis following an impressive loan spell.
However, Steve Cooper preferred Williams and when he first signed it’s fair to say that he didn’t always cover himself in glory.
He often lost his man, was prone to the diagonal ball over his head and his end product was sometimes lacking.
Although he did improve on those things to a certain degree last season, Williams is hardly an immovable object on the right-hand side of the defence.
Ola Aina could in theory play at right-back, with Forest still hoping to sign Bradley Locko for the left-back spot this summer.
In this day and age, Forest don’t typically allow the players go on the cheap and hopefully that will remain the case here.
It’s good to see that Forest have rejected the first offer and advised Atalanta what sum will tempt the club to do business.
Now, the ball is in the court of the Champions League hopefuls and it remains to be seen whether they will return with a second bid.
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