Nottingham Forest have been given encouragement to step up their interest in two potential transfer targets as the summer window approaches.
Midfield is an area of the pitch where the Reds are currently well stocked, but the end of the season will present an opportunity for head coach Nuno Espirito Santo to reassess his options. Several midfielders have already been linked with moves to the City Ground, and an update has been provided on a couple of them.
Juventus’ Douglas Luiz was on Forest’s radar in January. Reports from his native Brazil suggested the Reds were “trying” to sign the 26-year-old before the cut-off.
Manchester City were also credited with an interest at the time and Luiz was said to favour either a move Trentside or to the reigning Premier League champions. Forest were said to be “willing to make a bigger investment” in the player than their top-flight rivals.
According to Italian publication Calciomercato, City are still keen on Luiz while former club Aston Villa would now be willing to “take him back”. Newcastle United are also tipped to join the race for his signature.
Luiz is said to have been given the green light to return to England, just a year after he left Villa for Italy. If the Reds do want to try their luck again, they would reportedly have to shell out around €40 million (£33.5m) to snap him up.
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Luiz has generally had to settle for a substitutes’ role in Serie A this season. Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli was coy when asked recently whether he “regrets” signing the Brazilian in a £40m-plus deal.
He told Football Italia: “You have to evaluate these things at the end of the season. There are 12 games to go, many players showed their value here, others did not reflect what they’ve done in the past, but we remain convinced they will show their quality at Juventus.”
Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi is another midfielder Forest have been linked with as they put summer plans in place. Earlier this week, reports from Italy claimed “contacts could come to fruition” by next month as the Reds chase the 25-year-old.
Calciomercato explain Forest could “certainly” meet Inter’s valuation of the Italian, which is mooted at in the region of €45m (£37m). However, the report adds Frattesi will have the final say on his future and it may be he wants to continue in Serie A.
Nuno currently has Danilo, Ibrahim Sangare, Ryan Yates, Elliot Anderson and Nicolas Dominguez as his midfield options. Roma’s Bryan Cristante is another midfielder to have been linked, with suggestions negotiations could look at the possibility of including Dominguez in a swap deal.
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