Looking ahead to the future, Nottingham Forest are now reportedly eyeing a move to sign a Championship gem alongside a number of other Premier League clubs in 2025.
Nottingham Forest transfer news
Nottingham Forest should note down the summer transfer window as quite the success, having signed the likes of Jota Silva, Elliot Anderson, James Ward-Prowse and Ramon Sosa, whilst avoiding any profit and sustainability consequences courtesy of departures such as Orel Mangala and Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Ward-Prowse should prove to be particularly key, arriving on loan from West Ham United as a player with a wealth of experience capable of producing the extraordinary from set pieces.
Having strengthened in an impressive manner, Forest should now be looking to move into the comforts of the Premier League’s mid-table and away from relegation trouble once and for all. It won’t be an easy job for Nuno Espirito Santo, of course, but it is one that he has clearly been backed to do by those off the pitch investing in his side.
That investment looks only likely to continue when 2025 arrives too, with the Midlands club already reportedly eyeing future moves. According to Graeme Bailey for The Boot Room, Nottingham Forest are now eyeing a move to sign Souleymane Sidibe from Stoke City alongside the likes of Arsenal, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
It looks set to be a tight race for the in-demand midfielder, but one that Forest will be desperate to win given just how promising the 17-year-old has looked in and around Steven Schumacher’s senior side.
With the likes of Ward-Prowse to learn from, a move to the City Ground may not be a bad idea for Sidibe either, but only time will tell whether he opts for those among the European places or a move geared around potential game time.
“Mature” Sidibe has decision to make
Whilst his focus will undoubtedly be on gaining a permanent place in Schumacher’s starting side at Stoke, Sidibe won’t be able to ignore such interest in his signature for very long, giving him quite the decision to make. If it is to be Forest who benefit from his talent, then they may well have both a partner for Morgan Gibbs-White and a potential replacement should their star man decide to leave in the near future.
Sidibe has left many impressed in the Championship from the very off, with former manager Alex Neil telling BBC Radio Stoke after handing the teenager his debut in the Carabao Cup against West Bromwich Albion last season: “I thought his performance justified why he’s been with the first team all pre-season and why I played him in the game.
“I had no concerns over him. He’s a terrific talent but he’s also really mature, for being so young. He did exactly as I expected him to do – he did wonderfully well and he’s played in a Stoke team that won the game, and played the majority of the match. I think when you’re 16 years old, most players of that age could only dream of doing something like that.”
