Nottingham Forest remain interested in signing a striker, despite not pulling the trigger on any of their targets in the January transfer window.
Forest are already looking at strikers for the summer regardless of where Nuno Espirito Santo guides the team this season, but Forest’s current Premier League position suggests that the extra help up front will be useful in a European campaign.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 23 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 56 | 21 | 35 | 56 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 49 | 22 | 27 | 50 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 40 | 27 | 13 | 47 |
| 4 |  ChelseaChelsea | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 47 | 31 | 16 | 43 |
It seems most likely that Forest will go back for Yoane Wissa at the end of the season given the concrete interest in January which saw Brentford reject a Forest bid for Wissa as the sides remained apart in their valuations for the Congolese striker.
As well as Wissa, Forest target Matheus Cunha will be available for £62.5m should Evangelos Marinakis be tempted to return for the Brazilian, a deal that may be possible in the summer as Forest had a net spend of just £16m this season.
The possibility is now there for the Forest owner to spend big in the summer but the more frugal approach clearly worked this season, which may make another striker target more appealing with the news of Arsenal dropping out of the race for his signature.
Arsenal drop interest in Nottingham Forest-linked Igor Jesus
It was revealed that Forest could sign Igor Jesus in January but had competition from fellow Champions League-chasing Premier League side, Arsenal.
According to a report by TEAMtalk Arsenal were interested in Igor Jesus in January but a deal for the Botofogo striker never materialised.
The report said: “Botafogo striker Igor Jesus was another possibility for Arsenal last month and they held talks with his agents about a potential deal.
“Botafogo were willing to sell Jesus for around £20m and would have preferred an exit in January before their season begins.”
However, the report continued to say that the interest from the Arsenal side may have been overstated due to a factor that may be of interest to Forest.
According to the report: “Jesus was more of an Edu ‘legacy’ target rather than someone high on the list of targets following his departure.”
Given that Edu left Arsenal to work with Marinakis across his football operations, it’s reasonable to suggest that he could have brought some of his ideas across from North London with him, potentially including his ‘legacy’ interest in Jesus.
Edu could be the key to Nottingham Forest signing Igor Jesus
Botafogo’s valuation of £20m for Jesus makes him a cheaper deal for Forest to complete than Cunha, as well as being half as expensive as Brentford’s £40m valuation for Wissa.
However, Jesus rejected Forest’s interest in January as he preferred to remain in Brazil, so the Forest owner could need extra incentives to offer the striker to convince him of a future at the City Ground.
Whatever Edu’s role within the Marinakis system is, his extensive knowledge of the forward he wanted at Arsenal could act as part of this incentive as the player will want to feel valued to ensure the brave choice to leave Brazil is the right one.
Edu wont be enough on his own, though, so Espirito Santo and the Forest squad will need to play their part and deliver the continental football that could be the main selling point to Jesus.
Botafogo currently hold the Copa Libertadores which is the most prestigious continental competition in South American football so for Forest to convince Jesus to leave the chance to retain that trophy behind, they will need all the help they can get.
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