Nottingham Forest beat Saudi Arabian in £25m player race with enormous potential

Nottingham Forest’s summer transfer window is well underway now and it is time for the Reds to start spending some money.

So far, Forest have seen have seen two signings come through the doors at the City Ground.

Marko Stamenic and Eric da Silva Moreira have already put pen to paper on deals to play for Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side.

The former has departed on loan for the campaign to Evangelos Marinakis‘ other club Olympiacos for the 2024/25 campaign.

But it seems the Reds already have their eyes on their next potential signing having already made two acquisitions this summer.

Nottingham Forest eyeing exciting young prospect

Forest have enjoyed some successful signings in recent windows with players like Callum Hudson-Odoi landing at the City Ground for just £5m and impressing massively.

And then there is of course players like Murillo and Morgan Gibbs-White who could potentially leave this summer having stood out despite the club’s struggles in the Premier League.

The pair have both had considerable valuations put on their heads ahead of the summer; exceeding that of Brennan Johnson‘s departure last year.

Now it looks like Nuno’s side are trying to steal a march on the competition to sign an exciting young talent.

According to Spanish outlet Revelo, Forest are shown a firm interest in the Real Betis talent Assane Diao.

The Spanish winger has previously seen interest arrive from the Premier League with Brentford putting forward an offer of €25m (£21m) in January.

It is claimed, for now, both the player and his agents are calm about the possibility of moving on this summer.

But Forest are keen to beat the interest coming from Saudi Arabia with a connection between the 18-year-old and Al-Ittihad sporting director Ramon Planes.

Assane Diao said to have ‘enormous’ potential

The 18-year-old talent played 18 times for Real Betis in La Liga last season with 13 of those appearances coming from the starting XI.

Diao also featured prominently in the Spanish side’s European campaign with a number of showings in both the Europa League and Europa Conference League.

With three years remaining on his deal, Betis remain in a solid position when it comes to a potential departure this summer

But Forest are keen to get in whilst the winger is still just 18 years of age with the report suggesting he has ‘enormous’ potential for the future.