Nottingham Forest boss Steve Copper must sign “sensational” defender Joris Gnagnon on a free transfer this summer. The Frenchman is currently without a club after being released from Saint-Etienne recently.
Forest were linked (via Nottingham Forest News) with him back in 2019 when they were managed by Sabri Lamouchi, who tried to convince the player to move to The City Ground when he was at Sevilla.
It hasn’t worked out for him since, and after being released from the Spanish club last year, he joined Saint-Etienne where he spent this season. There is a talent in there somewhere and the fact he’s available for free has got to make this even more appealing for Cooper and his staff.
He could come into the club and provide great competition for the defenders currently at Forest, and bring with him top-flight experience which could be needed should they secure promotion to the Premier League.
Gnagnon has made 19 appearances in Ligue 1 this season with his now former side battling to remain in the division.
Should Nottingham Forest sign Joris Gnagnon?
One of the players he would be competing with if he moved would be Joe Worrall. The English defender has been pivotal to Forest’s promotion push having played 39 of their games in the league this season and is a favourite with the fans.
It would be hard to displace him given his impressive performances, however, we think that Gnagnon is a better defender and can offer Forest even more.
His statistics defensively are more striking, with Saint-Etienne winning possession of the ball 90 times this season as a result of a tackle made by Gnagnon. That compares to just 42 times for Forest and Worrall.
He also excels when passing the ball with an impressive pass completion percentage of 90% compared to the Englishman on 77%.
Although it may have not worked out for him at his past two clubs, this is a transfer with very low risk that Forest should be seriously considering. With no transfer fee involved, even if it didn’t go well, the club wouldn’t be massively out of pocket.
He was being paid £29k per week when he was at Sevilla and probably would be willing to take a pay cut to secure a move. Cooper must swoop for Gnagnon now before he’s snapped up by someone else.
IN other news: Sold after 1 appearance: Forest had a big disaster over £6.3m-rated “top talent”…
