Nottingham Forest want ‘world-class’ £115,000-a-week star closing in on Premier League record

It’s officially approaching silly season for the transfer market and Nottingham Forest might be ready to take centre stage once again.

The Reds have already signed nine players with two of those – Marko Stamenic and David Carmo – joining Olympiacos on loan.

Santiago Gimenez is a player liked by Forest and a deal to sign him could be completed in time for him to play against Wolves on Saturday.

It doesn’t appear as though Forest are finished just yet, however, and more players could be in the sights of the club before the window slams shut.

Andreas Pereira was surprisingly linked with Forest this morning and now another midfielder is on the radar of the City Ground outfit

Nottingham Forest want West Ham star James Ward-Prowse

According to transfer expert Pete O’Rourke, the Reds are now keen to sign the player who is closing in on the free-kicks record in the Premier League.

David Beckham currently tops that list with 18 goals from free kicks and Ward-Prowse currently has 17 to his name.

It would appear that a change of management at West Ham has bumped Ward-Prowse down the pecking order at the London Stadium.

As a result, Julen Lopetegui is keen to offload the 29-year-old before the transfer deadline on Friday.

Ward-Prowse only signed for the Hammers last summer. He scored seven goals and registered 11 assists during the 2023/24 campaign.

Prior to signing for the club he’s been a stalwart for West Ham, making 410 appearances for the club where he came through the academy ranks.

During his time at St Mary’s, he scored 55 goals and registered 52 assists before signing for West Ham for £30 million.

It’s not clear how much Forest will have to pay for Ward-Prowse and it remains to be seen whether he gets a move before the deadline.

Ward-Prowse would be very useful Forest signing

Things really are starting to heat up and Forest are once again in the thick of the action.

Last summer, the club landed seven new players on a hectic deadline day and hopefully, things won’t be quite so chaotic this time around.

Ward-Prowse would represent a decent addition and naturally, his set-pieces would be extremely useful at Forest.

Nathan Jones praised the midfielder when he was in charge of Southampton, calling him ‘world-class’.

The £115,000-a-week Ward-Prowse has played 11 times for England during his career and his quality from dead-ball situations is there for all to see.

Forest being linked with new midfielders perhaps ties in with Danilo requiring surgery on a broken ankle, with Nuno Espirito Santo keen to ensure the squad is well-stocked.

In our view, if a deal can be struck that makes good financial sense then Ward-Prowse could be the type of signing that really helps the Reds kick on this season.