REUTERS/Toby Melville
Nottingham Forest are in direct contact with Sevilla over the possibility of signing left-back Joaquin Oso this summer, according to reports from Sport Witness.
Despite Sevilla's struggles last season, Oso impressed in his 24 appearances across all competitions, scoring twice and providing three assists. This form, along with his contract expiring in 12 months, has prompted Forest to monitor the defender's situation and enquire about his availability.
Oliver Glasner was appointed as Vitor Pereira's successor at the City Ground earlier this month, and the Austrian is said to be keen on signing Oso.
Sevilla are reportedly willing to sanction the marauding full-back's departure after he refused to agree to a contract extension, although it's not yet clear whether the player is open to a move to Nottingham.
Nottingham Forest chasing Joaquin Oso
Oliver Glasner
Manchester United have reportedly been given the green light to sign Neco Williams from Forest this summer. If the Welshman does complete a switch to Old Trafford, then the East Midlands outfit will be light on options on the left-hand side of their defence.
Thus, Sport Witness report that Oso is on their agenda, with Evangelos Marinakis sensing a market opportunity on this front.
Oso and Sevilla's contract talks have broken down in recent months, and the La Liga club are therefore eager to cash in to avoid losing the Spaniard for free next summer when his contract expires.
Fiorentina have been heavily linked with Oso, although the Italian side are yet to make a concrete push to land the player's signature. Forest are looking to pounce on La Viola's indecision, and are intent on finalising a deal for the 23-year-old quickly, alhtough they may face competition from Tottenham and Newcastle for his signature.
Sevilla are reportedly demanding in the region of €15million (£12.8million) for the defender, which should be a plausible fee for Forest to stump up. That said, the Premier League club still need to convince the player to swap Andalusia for Nottinghamshire.
Joaquin Oso perfectly suits Oliver Glasner's football
Oliver Glasner
At Crystal Palace, Glasner's three-at-the-back system was contingent on one flying wing-back providing the width in the attack. The player tasked with fulfilling this role was usually Daniel Munoz, but the Austrian certainly won't have that type of player available to him at Forest if Williams leaves.
While Ola Aina is an exceptional defender, he doesn't offer the attacking quality Munoz and Williams are capable of providing.
However, Oso profiles excellently as an offensive full-back, and could therefore be the perfect candidate to play this Munoz role at the City Ground. The Spaniard excels in a number of attacking metrics, suggesting he's the perfect fit for Glasner's system and style of play.
Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe