Could £5m Jack Marriott deal solve Nottingham Forest’s goalscoring problem?

Follow us on Google Discover

Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday are the Championship clubs keen to sign League One hotshot Jack Marriott.

Nottingham Forest fans knew they were getting a pragmatic manager when Aitor Karanka replaced Mark Warburton at the City Ground at the turn of the year.

But while excitement was never likely to be high on the agenda, the fans would not have expected a run of five games without a goal. After three successive 0-0 draws, Forest have now lost their last two games against Middlesbrough and Millwall without hitting the net.

So reports in The Mail that they are monitoring Peterborough United hotshot Jack Marriott suggests that Forest are aware of the problem.

It is understood that Posh want at least £5 million for the prolific former Luton Town striker, who is also on the radar of Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday.

That is quite the profit on the £450,000 Peterborough paid Luton last summer but Marriott has scored 32 goals in 53 games in all competitions and now looks set to follow in the footsteps of former London Road favourites Britt Assombalonga and Dwight Gayle.

In stark contrast, no one in Nottingham Forest’s squad has scored more than Kieran Dowell’s nine this season – and he is only on loan from Everton. Leading striker Daryl Murphy has just one in his last 16 games.

So while £5 million is a huge amount of money for a player who has never played above League One level, Marriott could be simply priceless for Forest if he solves their goalscoring problem.