Nottingham Forest would be willing to pay close to the asking price for Brazilian youngster Pablo Maia, it has been claimed.
The Reds have been linked with the Sao Paulo midfielder ahead of the January transfer window. But they could face competition from Premier League rivals Fulham, who have seemingly stepped up their pursuit of the highly-rated 20-year-old.
The Cottagers reportedly had an initial bid of 7.5m euros (roughly £6.5m) turned down, with that figure falling some way short of the 10m euros (£8.7m) price tag placed on Maia’s head. But reports in Brazil suggest they have “made a new attempt” to sign the player and “negotiations continue”.
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Potential boost
Nottingham Forest have been handed a boost ahead of Sunday’s trip to face league leaders Arsenal.
Midfielder Lewis O’Brien has been pictured back in training with the Reds, having missed the last three games. The summer signing has been absent due to illness, which head coach Steve Cooper has said “really knocked him back”.
O’Brien was watching on at the City Ground at the weekend as his teammates saw off Liverpool, with Taiwo Awoniyi’s goal clinching a much-needed 1-0 win. And the summer signing seems to have stepped up his recovery by joining in with Cooper’s side as they prepare for the clash at the Emirates Stadium, being captured in pictures posted on the club’s official social media accounts.
“Lewis is still poorly,” the Forest manager had said prior to taking on Jurgen Klopp’s team. “We are helping as much as we can with his recovery and really trying to get to the bottom of it. He’s taken a bit of a hit with it.”
January exit?
Nottingham Forest forward Lyle Taylor is 'ready to move on' amid interest from a number of clubs, according to reports.
Taylor, 32, is yet to feature for Forest since their promotion to the Premier League and was used sparingly in their promotion campaign last season, leading to the striker pursuing a loan move to Birmingham City in search of regular minutes.
Forest made a total of 21 signings throughout the summer transfer window, with Taylor plummeting down the pecking order and game time now looking non-existent for the man who signed for them back in 2020.
According to Football League World, Taylor is 'anxious' to explore a move away from the City Ground with a move in the January transfer window now being targeted.
Henderson stance
Nottingham Forest loanee Dean Henderson will only return to Manchester United to be their number one, according to reports.
The 25-year-old shot-stopper pushed for an exit from Old Trafford this summer due to there being no guarantees regarding regular minutes.
He has started all 12 of Forest's games throughout the 2022/23 Premier League campaign since their return to the top flight of English football, with three clean sheets recorded in this time which included an impressive display against Liverpool most recently.
According to The Athletic, Henderson would only consider returning to his parent club if he was promised a starting role under Erik ten Hag. However, it is unclear currently whether the United boss views him as a long-term solution between the sticks.
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