Nottingham Forest’s new Director of Football could make a huge difference behind the scenes.
The appointment of Frank McParland as Director of Football could prove to be a masterstroke from Nottingham Forest. After all, they are hardly renowned for their astuteness in the transfer market as the signings of Thomas Lam, Damien Perquis, Mustapha Carayol, Nicolao Dumitru and Vladimir Stojkovic this season alone will attest.
McParland, as reported by the Nottingham Post, is the sort of figure a cash-strapped Forest have required for some time. The esteemed talentspotter plucked Raheem Sterling and Jordan Ibe from QPR and Wycombe while working at Liverpool while Andre Gray and Scott Hogan, two strikers he helped bring to Brentford, earned the club almost £30 million in transfer fees.
A short-lived spell at Rangers aside, McParland is a canny, proven operator. Yet, his first important move could be to try and secure the future of a player that he and Mark Warburton were reportedly interested in bringing to Ibrox.
The Scottish Sun reported that combative central midfielder Aaron Tshibola was on Rangers’ radar after falling out of favour at Aston Villa. Now, by a quirk of fate, McParland finds himself linking up with the former Reading youngster at the City Ground.
And although Tshibola has only started twice for Forest since arriving on loan from Villa, in defeats against Norwich and Fulham, he could yet prove a valuable addition in front of the league’s second leakiest defence.
Tshibola is an energetic, tenacious midfielder keen on a tackle. Furthermore, at 22, he has plenty of time on his side. Therefore, McParland could be pulling of a trademark coup by helping Forest sign the midfielder on a permanent deal in the summer.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
