Could Sammy Ameobi join Nottingham Forest from Bolton? Alan Hutton and Albert Adomah are also linked after winning Championship promotion with Aston Villa.
This time last year, Nottingham Forest appeared to be following Wolverhampton Wanderers’ lead as they aimed to bring an end to 20 years outside of the Premier League.
But while Wolves stormed to the Championship title with Ruben Neves, Helder Costa and Diogo Jota scoring goals for fun and ripping teams apart, Nottingham Forest’s own Iberian investment proved to be far less successful.
£13 million record signing Joao Carvalho impressed in fits and bursts but Gil Dias and Diogo Goncalves were huge disappointments and won’t be at the City Ground next season.
In fact, eight of their signings during the 2018/19 campaign had never played in England before – and it showed as Forest fell well adrift of the play-offs.
But with Martin O’Neill at the helm and links with super-agent Jorge Mendes seemingly placed on the backburner, the East Midland giants appear to have changed tack with experienced, proven Championship players now the priority.
The Post reports that Sammy Ameobi is set to sign on a free after two years at Bolton Wanderers while veteran defender Alan Hutton is expected to arrive too (the Sun) after helping Aston Villa to the play-off final last season.
Albert Adomah could also make the move from Villa Park to the City Ground, as reported by the Bristol Post. A 30-year-old winger, Adomah shone at Bristol City and Middlesbrough before donning claret and blue.
And, should all three arrive, they will add plenty of Championship nous to a Nottingham Forest squad that looked ill-equipped to deal with England’s second tier last season. And that can only be a good thing, even if links with Ameobi, Adomah and Hutton leave Forest fans feeling rather underwhelmed.
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