Nott’m Forest nearing second Arsenal raid as insider confirms bid for struggling defender

Nottingham Forest have reportedly submitted a ‘formal proposal’ to sign Arsenal full-back Nuno Tavares, while also negotiating with the player, as per Fabrizio Romano.

Mikel Arteta is happy to shed players he doesn’t feel are useful assets. Over the past few seasons, he’s sanctioned the exits of Willian, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, Bernd Leno, Pablo Mari and Matt Turner, among others.

Some players, like Mari and Turner, have been given little time at the Emirates before it became clear they were not what the club was after. Turner has just made a £7million move to Nottingham Forest, just a year after joining the Gunners.

He might soon be joined at the City Ground by left-back Tavares. Transfer insider Romano reports Forest have submitted a ‘formal proposal’ to sign the defender on a ‘permanent deal’.

It’s also stated negotiations are ‘still ongoing’ on the player’s side. Romano simply added ‘deal on’ at the end, suggesting there’s a good chance Arsenal agree to let Tavares go.

That he spent last season on loan at Marseille, and there are two left-backs in Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko ahead of him in the pecking order supports that.

The defender signed for approximately £8million just two years ago, so he shouldn’t command a big fee.

While he’s not had much of an impact for Arsenal during his time there – playing 28 games in that time – he could be a useful asset for Forest.

He’s only 23, so has a lot of time to progress his game and become a useful asset. Perhaps a move to a side as big as Arsenal so early in his career was too big a step.

But he showed on loan at Marseille that he has the ability to perform, and there was clearly a reason that the Gunners signed him in the first place.

He’ll slot into a side with a good amount of talent in it. This summer alone, Chris Wood’s transfer to Forest has become permanent, Turner has joined from Arsenal, and Anthony Elanga has come through the door from Manchester United.

There are a lot of talented players who were previously at Premier League sides, and Tavares could well add to that list and help Forest’s performances throughout the campaign.

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