Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton knows Martyn Waghorn well from their time at Rangers – but that should not inspire a City Ground reunion.
Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton
On initial inspection, the final third is the last place Nottingham Forest need to strengthen this summer. The club are crying out for a safe pair of hands between the sticks, reinforcements at right and left back and possibly a dynamic central midfielder too.
Nonetheless, of all the forwards at Forest’s disposal, perhaps only Britt Assombalonga can be classed as a natural-born goalscorer. And with injuries restricting him to just 20 Championship starts in 2016/17, can he really be relied upon all season long?
18-year-old Ben Breretorn is immensely talented but it’s far too soon to place the goalscoring burden on his shoulders. Furthermore, the effervescent Jamie Ward bases his game on perspiration rather than inspiration and manager Mark Warburton appears more than unconvinced about Apostalos Vellios.
Nottingham Forest’s Ben Brereton
Solution?
However, that does not mean that Forest should automatically jump at the chance of signing Martyn Waghorn from Rangers this summer. The Daily Mail claimed in March that the East Midlands giants were preparing a summer swoop.
And the Daily Record report that Rangers will let him go for just £400,000 this summer with manager Pedro Caixinha unconvinced.
Martin Waghorn
However, the fact that the Ibrox giants are willing to almost give him away should set off a few alarm bells. Waghorn may have netted 16 goals in 2016/17 but his erratic performances left a lot to be desired.
In fact, the 27-year-old even became a scapegoat amongst some sections of the support as if his regular presence in the starting XI eitomised the club’s decline.
And this is without mentioning the fact that Waghorn and current Forest boss Warburton did not appear to see eye to eye at all times at Ibrox.
When Warburton left the club in February, Waghorn suggested the squad had underperformed due to the manager’s questionable rotation policy, per the Daily Record.
All in all, Forest should steer clear. Even at a bargain fee, Waghorn is not worth the risk.
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