Nottingham Forest ‘join Aston Villa’ in race for 27-year-old free agent

Nottingham Forest have reportedly joined Aston Villa in the race to sign a Premier-League-proven free agent.
On the back of securing their top-flight status for another 12 months, Forest worked tirelessly throughout June to ensure that they complied with the division’s Profit and Sustainability regulations.

That was achieved through the likes of Odysseas Vlachodimos, Moussa Niakhate and Orel Mangala departing in deals that totalled in excess of £50m, as well as a number of players being released or returning to their loan clubs.

Forest are now in a position where they can add further fresh faces to their ranks, joining the likes of Elliot Anderson and Eric da Silva Moreira.

With the prospect of more big-money sales materialising, Forest can perhaps afford to spend more freely in the market, yet it appears that they are currently targeting what would be a shrewd piece of business.

Are Villa as interested as they were during June

Last month, it was suggested that Villa were interested in bringing in Iheanacho as backup for Ollie Watkins.

That came at a time when Jhon Duran was being heavily linked with a switch to Chelsea, but that transfer has failed to come to fruition.

As a result, the West Midlands outfit are said to have placed less priority on signing Iheanacho, which could subsequently let in Forest.

Lewis Dobbin has also been signed from Everton, while Cameron Archer has returned from Sheffield United and a buyer must be found for the academy graduate.