Nottingham Forest return for pre-season training today and the club will be hard at work behind the scenes trying to strengthen the squad.
Forest announced the signing of Igor Jesus over the weekend, and it’s thought that Jair Cunha might join him at the Reds from Botafogo.
Anthony Elanga is still heavily linked with Newcastle, and if that deal goes through, it should give Evangelos Marinakis a significant amount of money to reinvest in the squad.
New signings will certainly be forthcoming with the UEFA Conference League on the horizon next season and Nuno Espirito Santo won’t want to be left short again this season.
As ever with signings, some new links will come out of the blue and after Chelsea made the Champions League at the expense of Forest, one of their players might be absolutely perfect for the Reds.
Nottingham Forest should move for Lesley Ugochukwu
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are now unwilling to let Ugochukwu move out on loan this summer and will only entertain permanent bids for the midfielder.
Chelsea have to raise over £60 million in transfer fees, otherwise they could face expulsion from the Champions League after failing to meet some of the criteria set by UEFA.
It’s believed that Valencia are showing early interest in Ugochukwu, but it’s claimed that Premier League clubs would like to sign the player too.
Forest could do a lot worse than go for Ugochukwu, with a number of central midfielders linked with the club this summer, including Douglas Luiz and Richard Rios.
Ugochukwu is a midfielder with an abundance of talent, and with Chelsea looking to raise funds, perhaps a deal is viable for the 21-year-old player.
The player who is eligible to play for Nigeria made 31 appearances on loan at Southampton last season, offering Forest a glimpse of his talent in the process.
Ugochukwu praised for performance vs Forest
Back in January, Southampton arrived at the City Ground rock bottom and very nearly pulled off an almighty comeback to stun Trentside.
Forest led 3-0 at the interval, but goals from Jan Bednarek, assisted by Ugochukwu, and Paul Onuachu set up a grandstand finish for the Saints.
Ola Aina cleared one off the line late on and after that game, Onuachu called the Chelsea gem ‘amazing’ for his efforts at the City Ground.
Furthermore, Ugochukwu completes a higher percentage of passes than Ryan Yates, according to Squawka and perhaps he’d be a useful addition to the Forest ranks this summer.
There’s no indication just yet that Forest are one of the clubs keen to sign Ugochukwu but given his potential, it’d be a signing that fits nicely with what the club have tried to do in recent years.
Furthermore, he’d be a very useful foil for Ibrahim Sangare and might quickly become the perfect partner to play alongside Elliot Anderson for many years to come in the Forest engine room.
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