A player linked with Nottingham Forest in January now looks set to win a move to Portugal – with an update emerging on his future.
Forest will have to cut their cloth accordingly in the summer, with Evangelos Marinakis likely to need a cost-cutting exercise.
Even if Forest do stay up it feels as though there will be more players leaving the City Ground than coming in – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
In fairness, Forest started taking those measures in January when just three new players were added by Nuno Espirito Santo.
Matz Sels signed for £5 million, Giovanni Reyna joined on loan and Rodrigo Ribeiro joined as a player with bags of potential for the future.
Another player who was linked with a move was Mainz midfielder Leandro Barreiro who will be out of contract in the summer.
Now, an update has come to light and it might not be particularly good news for Forest.
Update emerges on Nottingham Forest target Leandro Barreiro
Barriero was first linked to Forest tentatively in January but in March it was claimed that the Reds were considering offering him a contract.
The youngster is only earning £21,000-a-week at Mainz it looks as though he’s set for a move during the summer transfer window.
The 24-year-old is a former teammate of Moussa Niakhate and this season he’s made 28 appearances in all competitions.
Now, it would seem as though a move to Benfica is edging close, with Record claiming that he’s been looking at houses in Portugal.
Furthermore, it seems as though Barreiro has already met with Benfica transfer chief Rui Costa as things get hot between the two parties.
Barriero normally plays as a holding midfielder and in total, he’s made 146 appearances for Mainz and has collected 56 caps for Luxembourg.
Forest have to target a certain profile this summer
Firstly, the fact that Barreiro would have been a free agent would have made him an exceptionally shrewd signing for Forest.
It’s hard to imagine the club spending much money during the off-season – even if Premier League football is secured for another season.
Furthermore, Barreiro would fit the criteria for the sort of player that Forest should look to be signing this summer.
At 24, he’s young enough to maintain some potential and given that it’d be a big move for him, he would likely show lots of hunger to succeed.
Forest have to lean on George Syrianos more often than not in the future.
Since he came to the club he has largely signed quality players and the expensive, over-the-hill signings need to cease at the City Ground.
Barreiro would have likely proved a very smart addition to the ranks but now it looks like one Forest have missed out on.
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