Star subject of £20m Nottingham Forest bid gets media praise after stunning World Cup display

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Nottingham Forest were linked with a number of players in January and now one star has showcased exactly what the Reds are missing.

Arne Engels and Hayden Hackney were two of the players fancied by Forest but neither came to fruition in a mad dash to bring players in.

What did you make of Dan Ndoye’s display for Switzerland against Qatar?😥

He managed just 2/6 attempts on target! 😲

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With Elliot Anderson having interest from Manchester City, a midfielder will be sought this summer and it’s imperative that Forest get things right.

On Sunday night, Sweden got their World Cup campaign underway and a Forest target from January showed exactly why the club wanted him so badly.

• READ MORE: Inter make contact to sign Forest star

Yasin Ayari called ‘world-class’ as Sweden win 5-1

Ayari was a shock target that emerged in January, with Forest actually making a £20 million bid to sign the Brighton star.

The 22-year-old started 20 Premier League games during 2025/26 as Brighton secured Conference League football, scoring three goals and registering three assists.

His form for the Seagulls earned him a starring role under Graham Potter in the Sweden team in their World Cup opener against Tunisia as they ran out 5-1 victors.

Ayari was in no mood to mess around and scored two brilliant goals, earning a ‘world-class’ rating from Fotbollskanalen in his home country.

They said: “Started the match very strongly and offered incredible shots to both 1-0 and 5-1. Was proactive and floated forward. Hit the free kick that led to 4-1.”

Forest must go back in for Ayari

Looking back, the £20 million bid made by Forest was a bit of an insult to Brighton, and not having European football to entice him next season will make landing him a challenge.

However, that shouldn’t stop Forest from trying, and the fact that he can score goals from midfield does make him an attractive signing.

Ayari only has a contract until next summer, and as a result, it makes perfect sense to try and test the water again during the transfer window.

Even if the valuation goes up with a solid World Cup, the player has bags of potential at 22, and he looks like the sort of player who would almost certainly excite the Forest fan base.