If Nottingham Forest were to secure Champions League football next season - the first season with Forest in Europe since 1996 - it would naturally open plenty more doors ahead of the forthcoming summer transfer window.
Forest are sitting comfortably in third ahead of the return of domestic action, four points behind Arsenal and seven ahead of sixth placed Newcastle, with fifth place in the Premier League this term likely enough for a place at European football's top table.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side have enjoyed an excellent season so far, a campaign many close to the club and outside of it couldn't have predicted was coming before a ball was kicked. With European football of some sort on the horizon next term - Forest could still also qualify for the Europa League with an FA Cup win - there is plenty to be excited about.
The calibre of transfer target, then, is expected to improve. Forest will not only find that more players are open to play for the club and view it as an attractive proposition because of the European football on offer, but that their own, specific, targets are likelier to entertain moves to the City Ground.
One player who is reportedly uninterested irrespective of Forest's league finish is Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres. The Swedish international is on the cusp of completing his second campaign in Portugal having joined for around £20m from Coventry City in the summer of 2023.
Gyokeres has produced stunning form over an extended period of time; he has 40 goals to his name this term, a milestone he also hit last year. Incredibly, Gyokeres has only played 91 games to date yet in that time has been able to contribute 83 goals and 25 assists for Sporting, who top the Portuguese top flight and are looking to put together back-to-back titles.
Considered to be among the most potent number nines on the planet, Gyokeres isn't short on suitors; Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool have all been linked previously, with the Gunners in desperate need of a quality centre forward and likely to recruit a player who fits the bill this summer.
Gyokeres, according to Record this past weekend, is 'unlikely to consider' a move to the City Ground should Forest secure Champions League football and come calling this summer as he is awaiting what he believes to be a 'big project'.
Meanwhile, reports from Italy this weekend claimed that Forest had an offer to take Douglas Luiz out of Juventus rejected this past January window - but that the Reds are likely to remain interested in securing the midfielder's signature once the summer window opens.
Luiz left Aston Villa to join Juventus in the summer after a stellar season in the Premier League in which he scored nine goals from midfield to help the West Midlanders secure a Champions League place. However, life has been difficult in Turin for Luiz who has only started three Serie A games for a Juventus side currently lying in fifth position.
According to Tuttosport, Forest tried to end Luiz’s Italian nightmare in January but Juventus weren’t willing to offload the Brazilian. The same report claims Forest could revisit a deal for Luiz in the summer and aren’t put off by Juventus’s €40m (£33m) asking price.
What is Forest's transfer priority in the summer? Have your say HERE
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