Nottingham Forest are closing in on Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah following a summer search for a new talisman.
The Reds have been looking at a number of options with Santiago Gimenez also linked with a move to Forest.
Signing the Mexican was going to prove tricky though, with Feyenoord wanting to recoup £38 million for his services.
That has led Forest to Nketiah and the club remains locked in talks with Arsenal over the finer details of the final transfer fee.
It was claimed last night that Forest have agreed personal terms with Nketiah now and the search for a new striker looks to be over.
Paul Anderson thinks Eddie Nketiah can emulate Tottenham star
The Reds look set to complete this deal in the coming days, with reputable journalists starting to suggest that a move is now close.
Anderson spent time at Forest as a player and was a tricky winger when Billy Davies was in his pomp during his first spell in charge of the Reds.
He believes that Nketiah should look towards Tottenham player Dominic Solanke as to what can be achieved by dropping down the ladder a little bit
He told the Forest Focus podcast: “Deals can be done. So Arsenal, if they want rid of him and he’s on £100,000-a-week and Forest are prepared to pay £75,000-a-week – I don’t know what it is. However long he’s got left on his contract, Arsenal need to pay him £25,000-a-week for however long to get him out of that, he can still get his money or whatever.
“If he backs himself which I imagine he does, take your £75,000-a-week at Forest, prove everyone wrong and then go and get yourself a move to a top six club like Dominic Solanke has done and get whatever amount of money you can get there. There can be clever ways to make it happen.
Nketiah could be quality signing for Forest
In our view, Anderson has used the perfect analogy really to sum up why Nketiah would be silly not to come to Forest.
With personal terms agreed it does feel like the only stumbling block now is the transfer fee that Forest will pay to Arsenal.
Solanke moved to Tottenham for £65 million in the summer and that move came on the back of a brilliant season with Bournemouth.
He was among the top goalscorers in the Premier League during 2023/24 and that form earned him a move to Tottenham who are in Europe this season.
Now, Nketiah will have the chance to do the same thing. Okay, Forest won’t like the notion that the club will be used as a stepping stone but that’s just how football works.
Hopefully, this deal can get over the line quickly and Nketiah can prove that Arsenal were wrong not to hand him a real chance to become their regular number nine at the top end of the pitch.
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