Nottingham Forest are set to kickstart their deadline day business, targeting a 20-year-old EFL talent with international experience.
Nuno Espirito Santo must’ve been expecting a quiet deadline day given the lack of success Forest have had with their primary January targets.
After Forest made Matheus Cunha their top target, the Brazilian signed a new contract at Wolves to rule out the chance of a deadline-day switch to the City Ground.
Evangelos Marinakis would then suffer a further blow as Marcus Edwards decided to join Burnley over Forest to all but confirm that no attacking reinforcements would be joining this window.
Forest were ready to break their transfer record for Cunha, but a fresh link with one EFL star will be more of a cheaper deal with one eye on the future.
Nottingham Forest in talks with Reading starlet Tyler Bindon
Not wanting to be left out of the deadline day festivities, the Forest owner has set his sights on Reading’s New Zealand international defender, Tyler Bindon.
According to the Telegraph’s Mike McGrath: “Nottingham Forest have held talks over a deal for New Zealand centre-back Tyler Bindon to join from Reading and get loaned back to the Madejski for the rest of the season.”
Bindon has made quite a name for himself in League One for Reading, starting all 28 league games this season and scoring once from centre-back.
Similarly to Murillo, Bindon excels with the ball at his feet, boasting an 81.9% pass accuracy per game and an impressive dribble success rate, completing 77% of his dribbles per 90 minutes.
He could be the ideal defensive option in the Forest squad for future seasons but Bindon is already receiving resounding plaudits for his commanding performances at just 20 years old.
Reading boss Noel Hunt is in awe of Tyler Bindon
Bindon has already captained Reading at a young age, which comes as no surprise when considering how his manager, Noel Hunt, speaks of him to the press.
After Bindon scored the winning goal in Reading’s December victory over Mansfield Town, Hunt spoke to the Reading Chronicle, saying: “You might be surprised but I’m not surprised, the kid [Bindon] is unbelievable. He doesn’t know how good he is or how good he is going to be. He is the loveliest boy, and his character is so delightful to work with.
“He is inquisitive, asks questions and wants to know how things work and details of where he should be at any time- they’re the people you want to work with, as they all are.
“He’s a special kid. When he first came in, he trained with me and I walked into the office and said, ‘if we don’t sign him, I might as well not be here.’ In the first session to now, he’s outstanding.”
With Forest demanding a world-record fee for Murillo as the European giants circle, Hunt’s remarkable praise for Bindon could see him become a brilliant long-term addition for the Forest manager if he does lose the Brazilian star.
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