Sean Dyche Burnley
Nottingham Forest are actively pursuing additional signings before the January transfer window closes. With Napoli loanee Lorenzo Lucca as their only acquisition so far, the club is keen to bolster its squad. A significant £35 million bid has been placed for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, while discussions are ongoing regarding Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Jose Sa. The club is also targeting a left-back to address their defensive needs. Forest has until 7 pm on Monday to finalize any deals, and manager Sean Dyche remains optimistic about strengthening the squad with the backing of owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Sean Dyche said: “You want good players at the club. We have got them, and if you can add strength to it – as I said a couple of months ago when it was building up (to the window) – the club have made it clear they will support me and support the team. The owner has made that clear all along and he is willing to do that. But it has to be the right people. We have to get the right situation, the right fees agreed, contracts and all that. It is never done until it’s done. There are a couple of situations we are waiting for news on. If we can get players in, we will do that.”
Dyche added: “I have said all along, the club are a trading club and they have made it clear to me they are looking at options in varying positions. It is fair to say full-back is one of them, with the left-back situation as much as anything. We are looking at various options. It’s not just that position. You have all seen the news, we are trying to be proactive to strengthen where we can when we can.”
Injuries have influenced Nottingham Forest’s transfer strategy, with full-back Nicolo Savona recently joining the treatment table due to a knee issue. Meanwhile, Oleksandr Zinchenko’s loan from Arsenal is expected to end prematurely, as is the loan of Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz. These developments have heightened the urgency for reinforcements, particularly in the left-back position.
The recent signing of Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca is seen as a potential boost for the Reds. Although Lucca is ineligible for Thursday’s Europa League match against Ferencvaros, he is anticipated to make his debut against Crystal Palace over the weekend. Centre-back Nikola Milenkovic, who has faced Lucca in Serie A, praised the striker’s abilities and expressed high expectations for his contribution to the team.
Nikola Milenkovic said: “He is a big guy. I played against him in Italy a few times. He is a really good player and, yes, a big guy. We expect a lot from him, but also from all of our strikers. We have some good quality and we have to be happy with them.”
Dyche commented on Lucca: “It is early days (with Lucca). We have been surprised in one sense, because we were told that his English is not very good, but it is. As Nikola has said, he is a big, big fella, but he can also move. He moves well. We have seen the clips of him before he came here… but since he has been here he looks fit and, most importantly, like he wants to do well. That is always part of it – having demands on himself. He looks like a player who wants to make a mark here.”
With the transfer window deadline fast approaching, Nottingham Forest’s management is working diligently to secure the right players to enhance their squad for the remainder of the season.
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