Nottingham Forest believe they’re going to sign forward ahead of Aston Villa and Arsenal

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If Nottingham Forest are to complete any business in the January transfer window, they must act fast with deadline day on the horizon.

Nuno Espirito Santo will be largely happy with the makeup of his side, especially given that Ibrahim Sangare and Danilo are back from injury for Saturday’s trip to Brighton.

However, Evangelos Marinakis wants to sign a striker for Forest which will be a story that will run until the last minute on Monday’s transfer deadline day.

Yoane Wissa is of interest to Forest as a potential striking option, but recent reports have claimed that Tottenham want to hijack Forest’s move for Wissa which would complicate matters.

To add further disappointment for Espirito Santo, Igor Jesus isn’t interested in a move to Forest, with the allure of the Premier League not tempting him away from his native Brazil.

Neither of these players look to be the Forest owner’s primary target in the final days of the window, though, with reports suggesting that Marinakis has confidence in the pursuit of his preferred attacker.

Nottingham Forest remain confident of securing Matheus Cunha

Forest’s interest in Matheus Cunha has persisted since its initial reports, despite his parent club, Wolves and other Premier League suitors attempting to complicate a deal.

Even Wolves’ £70m price tag for Cunha hasn’t seen Marinakis back away from discussions, with the latest report from TEAMtalk suggesting that confidence is unwavering from the Forest camp.

The report initially claimed Aston Villa are increasingly keen on Cunha, stating that: “Villa want a striker to support [Ollie] Watkins, and they believe that Cunha would be the perfect candidate for the role, with the 25-year-old having scored 10 goals in 20 Premier League starts for Wolves this season.

However, the report continues, saying: “Despite interest from Chelsea among other clubs, Forest are confident that they will be able to get a deal done for the Wolves forward.”

Although Wolves remain confident of keeping Cunha, Forest’s confidence must be coming from somewhere given that a deal for the Brazilian forward has never been off the table.

Marinakis must feel a threat from Aston Villa, though, as Unai Emery’s side have a key advantage over Forest if they are serious about the pursuit.

Aston Villa can beat Nottingham Forest to Matheus Cunha with one key advantage

Even with Forest willing to break their transfer record for Cunha, this might not be enough to combat Aston Villa’s recently acquired riches.

Villa have just agreed a deal worth a fixed £64m fee for Jhon Duran’s move to Saudi Arabia, money that could easily be spent on replacing the Colombian with Cunha.

Marinakis’ willingness to pay a Forest record to bring Cunha to the City Ground is one thing, but Villa’s certainty in what they can offer for the Brazilian is something that Forest may not be able to compete with.

Villa have also qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League which was one of the factors that saw Cunha prefer a move to Arsenal over Forest, adding further difficulties to negotiations.

With Cunha being Marinakis’ top target, the pursuit will likely go on until the Wolves man is seen in another side’s kit but competing with the likes of Villa will be a true challenge.