Mainz are ’expecting’ Moussa Niakhate to leave the club as Nottingham Forest overtake Premier League rivals Everton and West Ham United in the race for the Bundesliga skipper, speaking to BILD.
With Everton turning their attention to James Tarkowski, and with West Ham on the verge of completing the £20 million signing of Rennes’ Moroccan colossus Nayef Aguerd, Nottingham Forest appear to have a relatively clear run at a man who, last season, was the youngest captain in the whole of Germany’s top flight.
According to The Athletic, newly-promoted Forest have entered talks with Niakhate.
And, as he enters the final 12 months of his contract, The Telegraph believe that Mainz would consider bids in the region of £8 million, despite have also sold his former centre-back partner Jerry St Juste to Sporting Lisbon this summer.
Are Nottingham Forest signing Moussa Niakhate?
“We’re expecting Moussa to leave,” says sporting director Christian Heidel. “It’s quiet on our side, but I don’t assume that it’s as quiet with Moussa’s agent.”
The 6ft 3ins Niakhate is not only a natural leader, he is also the rarest of beasts; A left-footed centre-half. There’s certainly a paucity of them on the market, and it’s not often they come as cheap as £8 million either.
What’s more, Niakhate has already proven himself to be more than capable in a back three – the system Steve Cooper prefers at Nottingham Forest. The rangy Frenchman could slot in alongside Joe Worrall and Steve Cook, with the similarly left-footed Scott McKenna likely to be most at risk following his arrival.
Niakhate is a goalscorer too. He’s hit the target seven times in the last two Bundesliga seasons, many of them penalties.
Forest are yet to seal a single new signing since beating Huddersfield Town in May’s play-off final. Furthermore, they look set to lose a host of key players, with loanees Keinan Davis, James Garner, Philip Zinckernagel and Max Lowe departing and facing uncertain futures. Djed Spence, meanwhile, is on his way to Tottenham Hotspur.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
