Fabrizio Romano gives Nottingham Forest hope of signing Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea, ‘almost guaranteed’

Nottingham Forest have a lot to do in the summer transfer window following the exit of Anthony Elanga and potentially still Morgan Gibbs-White.

There is still a belief Morgan Gibbs-White could leave Nottingham Forest, although, Evangelos Marinakis hopes it’ll be to Manchester City rather than Tottenham Hotspur.

As such, Nottingham Forest are already drawing up a list of replacements, with Aston Villa playmaker Jacob Ramsey eyed by Nuno Espirito Santo.

James McAtee has also been linked to the City Ground, however, there is strong interest from the Bundesliga.

Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt have already shown McAtee around their training ground, so clearly Forest are trailing in the race to land the Manchester City ace.

Now, Fabrizio Romano has offered the Tricky Trees hope in their bid to sign a very talented attacker.

• READ MORE: Who Yoane Wissa prefers to join out of Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United

Nottingham Forest handed boost in race to sign Christopher Nkunku

Nottingham Forest are exploring a move to sign Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea.

Espirito Santo and his chiefs have identified Nkunku after his 15-goal season with the West Londoners, despite playing limited minutes.

Now, Fabrizio Romano has reported that Nkunku is ‘almost guaranteed’ to leave Chelsea this summer, making a deal much more feasible.

Enzo Maresca is willing to sanction his exit, and Romano notes that ‘contacts’ will be made imminently, although, he didn’t name Forest.

There were some concerns that a deal for Nkunku would be too expensive, however, it’s now been confirmed that Chelsea value him at around £22m, which makes it very feasible.

Nkunku career stats

Nkunku has a lot of pedigree having come through at Paris Saint-Germain before excelling in Germany with RB Leipzig.

Across his career, the 14-cap France international has netted a whopping 113 goals, evincing how prolific he can be in the right system.

• 356 appearances
• 113 goals
• 71 assists

Forest fans believe Nkunku will be a real statement addition and some believe he’d be a big upgrade on Gibbs-White.

So, this is certainly one to keep an eye on.

Nottingham Forest handed Morgan Gibbs-White boost, but it’s also good news for Tottenham

Morgan Gibbs-White’s Nottingham Forest future continues to dominate the headlines, with the latest update providing a potential boost for both Forest and Tottenham.

After Forest shut down communications with Tottenham over Gibbs-White, it became clear that there would be no quick solution to his future.

It’s been said that Gibbs-White has been positive in Forest training, but the potential of Champions League football at Spurs is still on the cards as the North London club have never left the picture.

However, reports suggest that Evangelos Marinakis doesn’t want to sell Gibbs-White to Spurs, making a fresh report covering Manchester City’s stance on signing the English talisman particularly crucial reading.

Manchester City’s stance on re-entering Morgan Gibbs-White race

Back in June, City had moved away from signing Gibbs-White to instead focus on other midfield targets, in what was a relief to all at the City Ground.

However, with Marinakis’ issues with Spurs ongoing, there was a suggestion that one solution could see Pep Guardiola’s side reignite their interest in the 25-year-old.

However, according to the Manchester Evening News, City are now content with the midfield options they have at their disposal.

The report said: “Manchester City have no plans to sign another midfielder this summer despite Morgan Gibbs-White being available for a reduced £60million fee.

“The Blues held an interest in Gibbs-White towards the end of last season, but have since signed Rayan Cherki from Lyon for £31million and Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan for £46.3million.

“Having completed those deals, they are happy with their midfield strength and are now focusing on exits. Kalvin Phillips, Jack Grealish, and James McAtee are set to move on. There is also a chance that one of Nico Gonzalez or Ilkay Gundogan will depart.”

If Marinakis is truly intent on not negotiating with Spurs, this could be good news for the Forest squad as the chances of Gibbs-White remaining at the City Ground have increased.

However, Spurs will be celebrating the update too, as their chances of securing their top target are now one act away from seriously increasing.

Tottenham may need Morgan Gibbs-White to demand a move

Clearly, Daniel Levy is now alone at the front of the queue to sign Gibbs-White, but if Marinakis is to hold firm in his stance on dealing with Spurs, their position will remain meaningless.

Therefore, for Spurs to get their man, they are likely to need Gibbs-White to demand the transfer himself, a move that is hard even to predict the likelihood of.

On one hand, it was revealed that Gibbs-White had refused contract talks with Forest for a year to keep the release clause in play, but equally, the Englishman has handled himself professionally ever since the story initially broke, despite there being every opportunity to try and force the move through.

As it stands, Gibbs-White will join the Forest squad in Portugal this week after dealing with a personal matter. Spurs will be hoping that the midfielder gives some sort of signal of defiance soon enough to force Marinakis’ hand.