Nottingham Forest told they can land wonderkid for £25m in the summer after financial boost

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Nottingham Forest have found themselves in a strong financial position ahead of the summer transfer window, with one wonderkid available for a reasonable fee.

With Forest boasting a net spend of just £16m this season, Evangelos Marinakis will have wiggle room in the summer should they choose to improve Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad.

Frugal deals such as Forest’s £12m deal to sign Nikola Milenkovic have been a refreshing boost for the club in this campaign as Forest begin to settle into life in the Premier League after the significant outlay required to build a competitive squad in the first seasons at the level.

There were potential options for Marinakis to bring this spending forward to the recently passed January window, as Forest prepared a club-record bid for Matheus Cunha but the deal wasn’t possible as Forest were never close to signing a striker in January.

Therefore, with Espirito Santo looking to guide Forest into European competition, there should be a transfer bounty to spend in the summer as one exciting prospect has become available.

Nottingham Forest target Chris Rigg will be available to buy

November saw Forest linked with Chris Rigg but the magnificent 17-year-old was always set to continue at Sunderland to see out their Championship promotion bid this season.

It was never clear whether Rigg would be available in the summer, though, but according to CaughtOffside, the teenage sensation could leave the Stadium of Light at the end of the season.

The report said: “Sources with a close understanding of Rigg’s situation have informed CaughtOffside that a long list of top clubs are on alert as the 17-year-old attacking midfielder could be available for around £25million in the summer transfer window.

“Although Sunderland have previously resisted approaches for their prized asset, it now looks like they are resigned to losing him and will be prepared to let him go for a big fee.”

With Rigg predominantly playing as an attacking midfielder, he will have to fight to earn a spot in the Forest squad ahead of Morgan Gibbs-White, but his stats so far for Sunderland this season suggest that he may be a player that Marinakis can’t ignore.

Chris Rigg’s Sunderland stats are mightily impressive for his age

Joel Ndala signed for Forest in January to star in the Forest Academy, but Rigg’s stats at Sunderland show he would burst straight into Espirito Santo’s first-team squad.

With five goal contributions in 26 Championship appearances this season, Rigg is already showing at 17 that he could be a valuable goal threat for a top side like Forest.

Alongside his goals, Rigg has had 54 touches in the opposition box from midfield which shows he is actively seeking positions to contribute to his side, something the Forest coaching staff will love.

Rigg is also a useful creative outlet for Sunderland, contributing an 80.5% pass accuracy whilst creating 30 chances for his teammates, highlighting that Rigg could provide a similar creative spark that Elliot Anderson does in the Forest midfield.

The City Ground redevelopment has been moved to 2026 so financially, Forest won’t have a better opportunity to spend than in the 2025 summer window. If they can pull off a deal for Rigg, it will surely turn out to be another shrewd deal for Marinakis.