Nottingham Forest must complete bargain Gustavo Puerta signing, his stats are incredible

Nottingham Forest looked destined to sign midfielder Gustavo Puerta during the summer, only for him to join Olympiacos permanently.

Early reports suggested that Forest would trigger the Colombian's release clause at Racing Santander, before sending him on loan to Greece.

Instead, the 23-year-old is now a permanent player at Evangelos Marinakis' other club, but a switch to the City Ground is still surely on the cards.

The Reds have sent multiple players on loan to Olympiacos in recent seasons, so many would assume that Marinakis should be able to work something out going the other way.

Right now, Ibrahim Sangare has been forced to sit on the bench, with James McAtee and Xaver Schlager starring in midfield for Oliver Glasner.

The manager doesn't have too many options available to him, so getting an in-house deal for Puerta should be at the top of Forest's to-do list.

Gustavo Puerta shows Oliver Glasner what he's missing

Interest in the 23-year-old midfielder is hardly a surprise, especially after a sensational showing at the 2026 World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico.

And he continues to go from strength to strength on the international stage, completing 83 minutes in Colombia's defeat to Paraguay on Saturday, 3 October.

In that time, he completed 89 per cent of his passes, created one chance, completed 100 per cent of his four dribbles, and made 15 passes into the final third [FotMob].

Puerta was not dispossessed once; he made eight recoveries, one tackle, won 78 per cent of his ground duels, and even won two fouls.

When the Elliot Anderson hole is remaining at the City Ground, a move for Puerta from Olympiacos seems like a no-brainer for the Reds.

Could Nottingham Forest lose James McAtee?

While McAtee is a Forest player permanently, Manchester City are keeping an eye on his progression, with a buy-back clause in his contract.

While Stefan Borson deems it unlikely that the Citizens would make that move, relegation to the Championship could certainly change that.

McAtee never really seemed to find his place at the Etihad Stadium, but a change of position under Glasner appears to have unlocked him completely.

Should the 23-year-old return, once again, a move for Puerta would make perfect sense, and it should be easy, given that he plays for Forest's sister club.