Nottingham Forest tipped to complete triple swoop amid £15m source reveal – pundit
Noel Whelan has backed Nottingham Forest to sign loan stars Keinan Davis, James Garner and Djed Spence.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted Steve Cooper will want to keep the “nucleus” of the side which won promotion to the Premier League in the 2021-22 campaign.
Davis, Garner, and Spence all played key roles on loan from Aston Villa, Man United, and Middlesbrough respectively as Nottingham Forest won the Championship play-offs last Sunday (29 May).
A recruitment source told Football Insider (30 May) that Brentford and Tottenham are racing Forest for Spence – with Boro holding out for a £15million fee.
This site also revealed earlier this year (21 April) that Nottingham Forest will move for Davis if they confirm promotion – with a bid of £4million likely to be accepted.
Meanwhile, Garner’s talents are reportedly set to be assessed by new United boss Erik ten Hag during pre-season.
Whelan claimed the two-time European Cup winners may need as many as six signings this summer.
“I think they’ll be looking to keep all three [Davis, Garner and Spence],” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“They’ll want to keep the nucleus of that side which got them promoted. They’ll take that into the Premier League – and add more.
“If you’re going into a tough campaign you want to keep as many of those players as possible.
“They’re all settled at the club. They know how Forest want to play and the system Steve Cooper has put in place.
“If you keep them around, and add maybe three new faces. That will give them half a chance of staying up.”
In other news, Nottingham Forest and Norwich City race to sign Ligue 1 rising star.