Nottingham Forest make official bid for their Dean Henderson replacement
By Evan Curnew
As The Top Flight had previously covered, Nottingham Forest was expected to move for Arsenal’s Matt Turner if Arsenal decided to pursue a transfer for David Raya. With Arsenal having sent their own bid to Brentford for Raya, they are now subject to an offer for Matt Turner from Nottingham Forest.
Fabrizio Romano states that an official bid has been received from Nottingham Forest. As expected, Forest wants Turner on a permit transfer, not a loan for the season. Romano believes that talks between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal are advancing, suggesting a “here we go” in the not-so-distant future. The expectation is still that David Raya will come into replace the vacant spot that would be left by the departure of Matt Turner.
Nottingham Forest were also keen on bringing back Dean Henderson of Manchester United, but those links have gone quiet. Henderson spent last season on loan at Forest and suffered an injury that saw Keylor Navas move to Nottingham for the second half of the season. Now after surviving relegation, Nottingham wants to identify their own number-one keeper instead of relying on loans again.
Matt Turner joined Arsenal last summer, ending an eight-year stay at MLS side New England Revolution. Turner started four Europa League group stage matches for Arsenal last year, as well as the first leg in the Round of 16 against Sporting. He also played two FA Cup matches, including a 1-0 loss to Manchester City. He’s still searching for his first piece of Premier League action, as Aaron Ramsdale played every single minute last season.
The American keeper is a full fledge USMNT player, now regarded as the USA’s number one. He was the USMNT’s starter for the past editions of both the Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League, the latter of which they won.