It’s been an extremely challenging season for Nottingham Forest.
After a seventh-placed finish last term, many expected Nottingham Forest to be challenging at the top end of the table again.
Indeed, it’s not panned out like that at all, and the new aim heading into the final five games is very simple; achieve Premier League safety.
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Vitor Pereira’s side are expected to retain their top-flight status, with Opta’s supercomputer predicting them to finish on 42 points.
So, perhaps the Forest board will already have one eye on the summer transfer window.
With that said, here are three signings the club should make that could genuinely get them back challenging for Europe next year.
James Trafford (Manchester City)
Nottingham Forest evidently need a new goalkeeper, with Stefan Ortega currently due to leave at the end of the season.
Manchester City number two James Trafford would be the dream signing, and he’s been on Forest’s radar for some time.
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Forest explored a deal to sign Trafford last year, but the England international decided to join Pep Guardiola’s side.
With Gianluigi Donnarumma the first-choice at the Etihad Stadium, there’s a decent chance for Pereira’s side to land Trafford, who will be keen to play regular football elsewhere.
Yasin Ayari (Brighton and Hove Albion)
Yasin Ayari was subjected to Nottingham Forest interest in the January window, and the club did have a £20m bid knocked back by Brighton.
With Elliot Anderson due to leave, perhaps the Tricky Trees will reignite a move for the highly-rated Sweden international.
Truthfully, to adequately replace Anderson, the club will probably have to sign two players, as there is a huge void being left.
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Ayari would certainly be a shrewd addition if they can persuade Brighton to sanction his sale.
Fabian Hurzeler previously explained that the 23-year-old is a great character, which is the type of personality Forest should be looking to recruit.
“He always wants to improve and make the next step. He is a good listener. He lives for football. You can feel that when you see him and how he wants to get better.”
Zan Vipotnik (Swansea City)
The Championship is always a place Premier League clubs should be looking to recruit from, with the likes of Adam Wharton and Morgan Rogers perfect examples of successful second-tier signings in recent years.
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The current top scorer in the division, Zan Vipotnik, is certainly a striker Forest should be keeping a very close eye on.
The interesting point to note with Vipotnik is that he’s managed to score 22 goals for a mid-table side, which is encouraging.
The Slovenia international is only 24 as well, so there’s plenty of time for him to develop and become an even better number nine.
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