Nottingham Forest have reportedly submitted a formal proposal to sign Arsenal’s out-of-favour left-back Nuno Tavares.
Nottingham Forest have apparently set their sights on Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares as they look to bolster Steve Cooper’s left-back options. That’s according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who says that Forest have now made a formal offer to secure the Portuguese defender’s services.
The Tricky Trees are looking to sign the Portuguese wing-back on a permanent deal, with negotiations over personal terms with the player ongoing. Tavares initially joined Arsenal in the summer of 2021 for a fee of around £8 million from Benfica. However, after a run of games in the first team, he soon lost his starting place under Mikel Arteta to Kieran Tierney.
He spent last season on loan in France with Marseille and was largely impressive with his attacking output, scoring six times in 31 league matches as he helped the club finish third in Ligue 1. However, he is still deemed surplus to requirements at Emirates since returning to the Emirates Stadium.
The 23-year-old was not selected for the club’s pre-season tour of the USA. He was also not named on the bench for Saturday’s season opener at home to Forest. The Gunners are currently focused on selling players rather than scouring for reinforcements due to having a bloated squad, as well as FFP concerns.
Arteta recently admitted that Arsenal’s current squad is “unsustainable”. They have already offloaded six players this summer, but more are expected to be shifted out of the door in the coming days, with Tavares now strongly linked with a move away from the Gunners.
West Ham, Galatasaray, and Bundesliga duo Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen all expressed interest in Tavares last month, and Arsenal prefer to sell him outright. And it appears Forest have entered the fray, and are looking to do a second bit of business with the Gunners this summer, having already signed goalkeeper Matt Turner from the Emirates in a £10 million deal last week.
It is well-documented that Forest boss Steve Cooper is eager to bring in a new left-back before the transfer window slams shut. They have fewer options in that position this season. Renan Lodi was only on loan from Atletico Madrid at the City Ground last season. But Forest elected not to sign him permanently.
They currently have two natural left wing-backs, Omar Richards and Harry Toffolo. But the former has yet to feature for the club after injury, while Toffolo faces a lengthy ban for breaching the FA’s betting regulations.
New signing Ola Aina played in a makeshift capacity in their Premier League opener against Arsenal. As such, Forest were initially after Carlos Augusto from Monza, but the Brazilian went on loan to Inter Milan instead, forcing the Reds to look elsewhere.
This could well be a win-win situation if the Gunners can receive over £10 million for the 23-year-old, as that would mean the north Londoners have made a profit on their initial investment, while Forest would get their fourth summer signings through the door so far this summer, having already brought in goalkeeper Turner, defender Aina, and attacker Anthony Elanga.
