Latest Nottingham Forest transfer news as important deadline day on the cards for Sean Dyche's Reds
06:00, 02 Feb 2026
Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche on the City Ground touchline
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Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche on the City Ground touchline (Image: PA)
The winter transfer window has been a bit of a slow-burner for Nottingham Forest, but that could all change as the deadline nears.
Premier League clubs have until 7pm this evening to get any remaining deals done. For the Reds, it could be an interesting few hours ahead.
Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega became the club’s second signing of the winter window when he put pen to paper from Manchester City on Sunday. The 33-year-old followed striker Lorenzo Lucca (on loan from Napoli) in linking up with Sean Dyche’s squad.
Forest are unlikely to be finished there, although it remains to be seen how many additions they manage to get over the line before the cut-off. They have been looking to bring in another striker, a left-back and a midfielder but have faced challenges with securing some of their targets.
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Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi has been on the club’s radar for bolstering their options in the centre of the pitch. However, the suggestion from Italy is that he is now likely to stay put due to a failure to secure Liverpool’s Curtis Jones as a replacement.
Brighton and Hove Albion’s Yasin Ayari has also been looked at, along with Celtic youngster Arne Engels. A £14 million bid for the latter from the Reds has reportedly been rebuffed by the Scottish outfit.
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill has said Engels is not for sale. Asked about potentially making a profit on the 22-year-old, who was bought for £11m from Augsburg in August 2024, O’Neill joked to the Daily Record: "I would want it rebuffed, unless it was £100 million. And then I think the board would step in there.”
As for left-back options, Napoli’s Mathias Olivera has been linked with a switch to the banks of the Trent. However, boss Antonio Conte is reportedly unwilling to let him go without reinforcements coming in.
Fiorentina’s Robin Gosens emerged as a potential target ahead of deadline day. However, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano said on X: “Nothing into Robin Gosens and Nottingham Forest links as the German left back wants to stay at Fiorentina. Gosens rejected the approach as he wants to help Fiorentina in relegation battle.”
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The Reds have already added one striker, in Lucca, but getting another one in is not easy. With the likes of Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jorgen Strand Larsen turning into no-gos, Forest will have to move on to other targets if they want to further strengthen in this department. Olympiacos's Mehdi Taremi is among the forwards to have been on the club’s list.
Asked about what he would like to happen in the final hours of the window, Dyche said on Sunday: “We’ll see. The squad in general is good.
“There has been noise about (strengthening) up front, and then all of a sudden T (Taiwo Awoniyi) pops up with a goal (against Brentford) and reminds us that he’s capable. And then we have got big Lucca come in as well.
“Different areas of the pitch. Left-back is possibly an area we could look at and midfield to bolster it up. We have still got a lot of games to play.
“There are varying things. We are being linked with loads of players so we’ll see which ones we can land. There’s two or three I know of, but it doesn’t mean we’re going to get them and it doesn’t mean we are going to sign all of them either.”
Dyche is not expecting the departure of any key players on deadline day. The likes of Elliot Anderson and Murillo are not short of admirers, but Forest are unlikely to sell any of their prized assets.
“I think it’s highly unlikely, unless it’s our decision,” Dyche said of potential exits. “We’ve got control of that, that’s for sure.”
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