‘Goal machine’, ‘bulwark’: Van der Vaart hails reported Nottingham Forest and Celtic targets

Chris Hughton would probably give his right arm – or at least a few fingers – for a reliable centre-forward.

Remarkably, Nottingham Forest have failed to score in each of their last five Championship matches. They didn’t even manage a shot on target during the most forgettable of 0-0 draws with Watford last week before being swept aside by a Reading team that barely needed to break sweat at the Madejski.

Last season’s top scorer, Lewis Grabban, has yet to open his account in 2020/21 while summer signing Miguel Angel Guerrero looks less Britt Assombalonga, more Nicolao Dumitru.

If only Nottingham Forest had seized their chance to sign Simon Terodde instead (BILD).

The wily, 32-year-old hotshot was in Forest’s sights before moving to another former European champion fallen on hard times – promotion-chasing Hamburg.

And, after hitting nine goals in ten Bundesliga.2 matches, Uwe Seeler isn’t the only Hamburg legend to have been blown away by the league’s most feared hitman.

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“There’s no need to waste a lot of words about Simon Terodde. He is a goal machine on two legs,” says Rafael Van der Vaart, the former Holland, Tottenham, Real Madrid and HSV star (BILD). 

“You could put him in any team in the world and he would score reliably.”

Van der Vaart has also been impressed by Hamburg’s centre-back partnership of ex-QPR defender Toni Leistner and Germany U21 international Stephan Ambrosius, a reported January target for Leeds United (GhanaSoccerNet) and Celtic (BILD).

“Toni Leistner and Stephan Ambrosius are a real bulwark,” Van der Vaart says. If you’re reading that sentence quizzically, “bulwark” essentially means they form a solid defensive wall.

“I could imagine that some opponents have great respect for the two.”

The Hamburger Morgenpost recently reported Ambrosius had rejected the chance to extend his contract, which expires in the summer.

In other news, ‘That’s dedication’: David Seaman blown away by ‘proper ripped’ Liverpool player’s physique