Nottingham Forest showed an interest in Aaron Ramsdale and Kyle Walker-Peters before Sheffield United and Southampton paid big money for the Premier League pair, as reported by The Athletic.
Forest have pulled off some inspired signings during the past few years, from Lewis Grabban to Tiago Silva, but there are more misses than hits.
A dismal track record in the recruitment department continues to plague a club that has gone from play-off favourites to relegation candidates in the space of 12 grim months.
To make matters worse, The Athletic this week revealed a list of players Forest showed an interest in signing during the hectic 2019 summer transfer window – one in which Albert Adomah, Carl Jenkinson and Rafa Mir arrived at the City Ground.
And many of those transfer targets, including Reece James, Dan Burn, Eddie Nketiah and Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips and Stuart Dallas, have gone from strength to strength since.
There was also Aaron Ramsdale, the talented goalkeeper who, at the time, hadn’t made a single Premier League appearance.
Forest signed Brice Samba and Aro Muric instead and, a year later, Ramsdale joined Sheffield United from Bournemouth in an £18 million deal that made him one of the Premier League’s most expensive shot-stoppers.
The Athletic adds Nottingham Forest also wanted Kyle Walker-Peters when the fresh-faced right-back was struggling for opportunities at Tottenham Hotspur.
These days, the £13 million man is shining for Southampton who have emerged as genuine dark horses for a Champions League place.
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