Championship giants Nottingham Forest could reportedly spend big again on Benfica’s Bruno Varela, that is if they beat Newcastle United.
Nottingham Forest finally sealed a permanent deal for Watford’s Costel Pantilimon on Tuesday but that does not mean there will not be another new goalkeeper at the City Ground this summer.
Stefanos Kapino has been tipped to return to Greece while Aitor Karanka does not seem to be a fan of Jordan Smith, who lost his place between the sticks once the Spaniard replaced Mark Warburton in the dugout back in January.
Although Forest are not the only club allegedly keen on the £13 million-rated Portuguese U23 ace.
Record stated two weeks ago that Newcastle United were also interested in Varela, who made 29 Primeira Liga appearances last season in an eye-catching breakthrough campaign. But surely a move to Forest makes more sense, even if they are a division below – and not just because Varela would be able to link up with his former Benfica teammates.
While Forest are short of quality goalkeepers, with Pantilimon himself dividing opinion during his loan spell last season, Newcastle have recently signed Martin Dubravka permanently and boast the solid Rob Elliot and Karl Darlow in reserve.
Then there is Freddie Woodman, the England U20 World Cup winning hero who is expected to be Newcastle’s number one in the near future.
Surely there is a more obvious place for Varela at Forest.
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