'We've got to be interested in him': Nottingham Forest legend wants £20m player at the City Ground
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Nottingham Forest are looking to end a long-running saga by signing a striker when the January transfer window opens.
The Reds tried desperately to land a new talisman in the summer, with Santiago Gimenez rejecting Forest on three occasions.
Eddie Nketiah turned Forest down after chatting to Oliver Glasner and Forest eventually ran out of genuine options.
Omar Marmoush was loosely linked with Forest but in the end, all the rumours proved to be nothing more than fish and chip paper once the window closed.
Nuno Espirito Santo actually told Evangelos Marinakis to keep his money and avoid panic buying on deadline day – much like the club has done in the past.
Forest will definitely be on the hunt again in January and a legend of the club thinks a domestic player might be perfect.
Garry Birtles says Forest should target Premier League striker
Signing a striker in January certainly won’t be easy and Forest could be left disappointed again.
Talk on this week’s edition of the Forest Focus podcast turned towards Ipswich striker Liam Delap following his wonderful start to the season.
Birtles concedes he’s not seen too much of him – but is in no doubt whether or not Forest should have him on their radar.
He said: “I haven’t seen much of him but you do read and I’ve heard about him and if he’s scoring goals at that level then we’ve got to be interested in him.
“He’s obviously got something, this level is the hardest in world football to score goals in and Ipswich are putting a great show on for the Premier League.”
Delap tipped to replace Harry Kane long-term
This is quite remarkable but the 21-year-old is already being eyed as a natural replacement for England striker Kane.
Danny Murphy has recently made this claim about Delap and his six Premier League goals this season have truly caught the eye.
He told Match of the Day 2: “He’s got a lot of qualities. I’ve seen him quite a lot this season and I’d probably go as far as to say that, for me, he’s the obvious long-term successor to Kane.”
Delap cost Ipswich £20 million in the summer and it’s fair to say there is zero chance of Forest signing him this January.
He’s already scored six goals and is very much a mainstay in the team under Kieran McKenna right now.
Birtles is right to a certain degree though and Forest would welcome another striker being added to the ranks.
Chris Wood has eight goals during 2024/25 but if anything happens to him, it’s fair to say that Taiwo Awoniyi would have big shoes to fill.
Signing players in January isn’t easy but Forest could certainly do with delving into that list of striker targets in the New Year.
