Daniel Ayala was key to Aitor Karanka as Middlesbrough finished second in the Championship back in 2015/16 and now he wants him at Nottingham Forest.
Aitor Karanka knows what it takes to succeed in the Championship.
He led Middlesbrough to the Premier League in May 2016 and, having returned to management with Nottingham Forest, is hoping to fill his new squad with players he knows and trusts.
The Sun (18th January, page 54) reported that Forest have made a £2 million offer for Middlesbrough midfielder Adam Clayton. The Northern Echo, meanwhile, stated that he is also keen to lure Patrick Bamford from the Riverside and would love to re-sign Grant Leadbitter too if the opportunity presents itself.
And according to Gazette Live, Karanka has not stopped at four. It is understood that centre-back Daniel Ayala is another name on his radar as he looks to add some proven Championship experience to a squad chock-full of talented youngsters.
Unlike Clayton, however, Ayala appears to be a key part of Tony Pulis’ first-team plans at Boro. The towering Spaniard has started all three of the league games since Pulis took over from Garry Monk towards the end of December.
The 27-year-old featured 35 times as Boro finished second behind Burnley in the 2015/16 season and Karanka went as far as to describe Ayala as ‘brilliant’ during the first half of the subsequent Premier League campaign, as reported by Gazette Live.
The 6ft 3ins defender is also well known to Forest, having played 12 times for the club during a loan spell from Liverpool in the 2012/13 season.
And with Forest’s shaky defence an ongoing Achilles heel, supporters should be relieved that Karanka is aiming to improve the weakest area of their squad.
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