Patrick Bamford could be offered an exit from Middlesbrough by Nottingham Forest, who have just appointed former Boro boss Aitor Karanka.
Less than a year after Aitor Karanka was sacked by Middlesbrough, it appears that he is set to launch a raid on his former club.
The Northern Echo states that the Spaniard wants to make two former players his first signings since being appointed as the new manager of Nottingham Forest. Karanka is hoping to reunite with the experienced midfielder Adam Clayton, whose future at the Riverside has come under question after being omitted by new boss Tony Pulis.
But it is links with Patrick Bamford which will get Forest fans talking excitedly. The striker is a Forest academy graduate but appears to have unfinished business at the City Ground, making that ill-judged decision to join Chelsea in 2012 after just two first-team appearances for the East Midland giants.
Six years on, the enigmatic striker has been linked with a return
And Forest fans will be hopeful they will be getting the Bamford that starred on loan at Middlesbrough in 2014/15. As opposed to the one who flopped during spells at Norwich City and Crystal Palace before failing to make an impression since moving back to the Riverside for a fee rising to £10 million a year ago.
“He’s the best player in the division,” Karanka said of Bamford in May 2015 after his 17 league goals secured Boro’s place in the play-offs, as reported by The Telegraph. “For me there is not another player in the Championship who can do the things he does.”
The neutrals appeared to agree. Bamford was named the Championship’s Young Player of the Year that season.
And Forest fans will be praying that one of the most naturally talented players outside the Premier League finds his mojo once again under Karanka at the City Ground.
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