Nottingham Forest are reportedly eyeing up outgoing Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper John Ruddy.
The Reds are searching for a new goalkeeper after Brice Samba rejected the offer of a new contract and informed the club of his desire to be sold this summer. Manchester United's Dean Henderson looks set to follow Union Berlin striker Taiwo Awoniyi through the entrance door at the City Ground, but Forest could be in the market for another man between the sticks.
The claim comes from talkSPORT's Alex Crook, who said on Saturday afternoon: "I am hearing whispers that John Ruddy could also be coming in as another option in the goalkeeping department."
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Ruddy is set to become a free agent next month when his Wolves contract expires. It brings an end to five years of service at Molineux following his move to the Black Country from Norwich City in July 2017. The 35-year-old has featured 72 times in all competitions for Wolves and has more than 122 Premier League appearances to his name, most of which (116) came whilst playing for Norwich.
One of Ruddy's seven appearances for Wolves last season came in the 4-0 League Cup win over Forest in August 2021.
Samba's contract claim might have created an opportunity for Ethan Horvath to stake a claim to be the Reds' number one in the Premier League. The American featured 11 times across all competitions last term, including a cameo during the play-off final win over Huddersfield Town, but he says there is "uncertainty" over his future role at Forest.
In a recent interview he said he is "in close contact" with Forest about a potential move, but would stay if he were a regular starter next season.
"There is the uncertainty and I don't 100 percent know what will happen," Horvath said. "Going into this summer period, my main objective is is to play and I know that yes, the World Cup is coming around and that is part of the reason why I want to play but to be honest, I just want to play again, feel that adrenaline and those butterflies and just that gameday feeling day in and day out.
"We'll see what happens. We're in close contact with Nottingham and whatever happens, happens there. The main objective is to play, with Nottingham or somewhere else."
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