Nottingham Forest survived relegation last season from the Premier League. While they will need to trim down their squad, the club also will want to add more quality to their squad. One player that was recently linked to the club is now looking likely to join Forest. Manchester United’s Anthony Elanga is expected to join Nottingham in a deal worth £15M, per Fabrizio Romano. Elanga has given the go-ahead to Manchester United to close the deal. Everton were also reportedly interested in signing Elanga, but the Swedish international is set to move to City Ground.
Anthony Elanga to Nottingham Forest will be completed by the end of the week 🔴🌳 #NFFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 21, 2023
◉ Permanent transfer verbally agreed.
◉ Fee close to £15m to Man United.
◉ Green light also from the player.
Here we go. ✔️
…Forest keep pushing for Dean Henderson and sign Ola Aina. pic.twitter.com/SFf4TRWLxi
Elanga broke into Manchester United’s squad last year as one to watch. He, unfortunately, has progressed little since then. Under Erik ten Hag, Elanga did not feature often and had just five starts in the 27 Premier League matches he was available for. He also saw little time in the Europa League and domestic cups.
Elanga is not the only player Nottingham Forest want to sign from Manchester United. Fabrizio Romano states that they also want to bring back Dean Henderson again on loan. Henderson was the first-choice starter for Nottingham Forest last season until his thigh injury in January. The absence of Henderson saw the club acquire veteran Keylor Navas on loan from Paris Saint-Germain for the remainder of the season. In 18 Premier League matches, Henderson recorded six clean sheets. He has two years left on his Man United contract. A loan with a buy option seems like a plausible scenario.
The club still has to make a decision on who will be the club’s number two keeper as well. Ethan Horvath has returned from his loan at now-promoted Luton Town, who will not be bringing the USMNT keeper back. 36-year-old Wayne Hennessey is also still in the squad but may be seen as a third choice at this stage of his career.
A signing that may fly under the radar in all this for Forest is that they’ve signed Ola Aina. The UK-born Nigerian international has left Torino at the end of his contract. Aina is a Chelsea academy product who has had loans at Hull City and Fulham in the past.