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Report details how close Nottingham Forest came to attacker deal as club confirms switch
By Danny Wright
Nottingham Forest have reportedly missed out on signing attacker Connor Mahoney, according to a report.
The Nottingham Post claims that the 20-year-old had snubbed an offer to earn first-team football at the City Ground next season.
Bournemouth confirmed on their official website that they had secured the services of Mahoney on Tuesday, but posted the statement in the Under-21s section of their website, which suggests that the ex-Blackburn youngster isn’t expected to hook up with Eddie Howe’s senior squad any time soon.
The Cherries announced that they are “continuing to discuss satisfactory compensation with Blackburn” after he was released from Ewood Park at the end of June.
In the Nottingham Post’s report, it is said that Bournemouth hijacked Forest’s move for Mahoney at the last minute after the Reds had tabled an offer for him.
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It’s a huge blow to Mark Warburton’s recruitment drive which has so far only seen Jason Cummings arrive at the club.
Mahoney made his Blackburn debut against Forest over a year ago, and went on to make 21 senior appearances for the Lancashire club.
Football Insider Verdict
It’s very strange that Mahoney has decided to give up first-team football to play in the development side of Bournemouth. However it easily shows that money does the talking and it’s probably best that the Reds avoided the attack-minded winger as it’s clear that the shining lights of the Premier League is a better proposition than plying his trade in Warburton’s first-team. Cummings is a good signing for the Reds but they definitely need to bring in players who can provide support to both him and Britt Assombalonga. They’re both top strikers but they’ll never find the net without someone who can get over 12 assists a season.
In other Nottingham Forest news, the club are eyeing up this attacker from one of their Midlands rivals.
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