Nottingham Forest are close to making four new signings, including Lyon midfielder and longtime Arsenal goal Houssem Aouar.
After looking at the acquisitions of attacker Emmanuel Dennis of . have confirmed Watford and defensive midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate out Crystal Palace on Saturday night, Forest officially signed 14 players this summer, but that number looks set to rise to a whopping 18.
Brighton striker Neal Maupay will move to City Ground in a deal worth more than £15 million, and The Athletic are reporting Atalanta’s Remo Freuler will also join Steve Cooper, while another Swiss midfielder in the form of Frankfurt’s Dijbril Sow is also strong is connected.
And the latest news, courtesy of Sky Italy, is that Aouar is also close to a contract for Forest, having been linked with a move to the Premier League for several years now.
Arsenal have long been interested in the playmaker, who has scored 40 goals and provided 35 assists in 215 games for Lyon, and the France international has now entered the final year of his contract with the Ligue 1 side.
Aouar’s signing suggests Forest has ended the hunt for Wolves midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, who has been consistently linked with a departure from Molineux this summer.
Nottingham Forest signs summer 2022
Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin)
Neco Williams (Liverpool)
Emmanuel Dennis (Watford)
Orel Mangala (Stuttgart)
Moussa Niakhate (Mainz)
Giulian Biancone (Troyes)
Omar Richards (Bayern Munich)
Lewis O’Brien (Huddersfield)
Harry Toffolo (Huddersfield)
Brandon Aguilera (LD Alajuelense)
Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)
Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace)
Wayne Hennessey (Burnley)
Dean Henderson (loan from Manchester United)
Neal Maupay (Brighton)*
Remo Freuler (Atalanta) *
Thigh Glasses Sow (Frankfurt) *
Houssem Aouar (Lyon)*
*Not yet confirmed
Forest are entering their first Premier League campaign in 23 years after winning promotion via the play-offs last season, something the club were not quite prepared for.
As such Copper and co. have taken drastic measures, spending over £100million in a desperate attempt to bolster their team and avoid an immediate relegation to the championship.
Some of their notable signings include attacking midfielder Jesse Lingard, left-back Omar Richards and goalkeeper Dean Henderson on loan from Manchester United.
Forest’s return to the top didn’t get off to a good start as they lost 2-0 at Newcastle last week, but they have a chance to get their first points on the board when they face West Ham on Sunday.
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