Nottingham Forest were extremely active in the summer transfer window, bringing in 14 new players for then-manager Steve Cooper. Only newly-promoted Burnley (16) recruited more in that period.
Forest, who have since been charged with breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, haven’t made any additions so far in January as we approach the deadline, but that’s not to say they haven’t been active.
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Forest had hoped to sign Giovanni Reyna from Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan after reaching an agreement with the player, but French side Marseille have swooped in and may hijack the deal. Carlos Forbs at Ajax may be the Plan B, with negotiations now at an advanced stage.
Another area Nuno Espirito Santo could look to strengthen is between the sticks. Predecessor Cooper brought in Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos during the summer, but neither have been able to nail down the No 1 spot at the City Ground.
Now, though, Forest are attempting an ambitious move for a player who could solve that problem by definitively making the position his own.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Forest are working on a deal to sign Peter Gulacsi from RB Leipzig. Nuno wants to recruit a new goalkeeper “in the final days” of the window and has identified a prime target.
The club have already been in contact over a potential deal but have learned that Leipzig aren’t inclined to let him leave, which will make things “difficult”. Forest may hope that the Bundesliga side can line up a suitable replacement, freeing up Gulacsi for a move.
“Top-level” Gulacsi can be another Navas
Gulacsi used to be on the books at Liverpool but left for RB Salzburg in 2013, and then moved on to sister team Leipzig two years later. Now 33, he’s vastly experienced at the highest level with 287 games under his belt for Leipzig.
However, after an anterior cruciate ligament tear last season, he lost his place in goal to Janis Blaswich, and he’s been limited to just three outings this season – two in the cup, and one in a Champions League group-stage dead-rubber against Young Boys. That may be why Nuno has sensed an opportunity.
Gulacsi established himself as one of Europe’s best goalkeepers during his time at the Red Bull Arena, earning a place in Kicker’s Bundesliga Team of the Season in 2018/19. He’s been capped 51 times by Hungary and twice named the country’s Footballer of the Year (2018 and 2019).
Delving into the advanced data, you can see that across the past five seasons, he’s ranked seventh or higher for goals prevented per 90 three times, and led the way in Europe’s top five leagues for this metric in 18/19 (0.34).
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Described as a “top-level” shot-stopper by football writer and podcaster Danny Corcoran, he could in a sense be another Keylor Navas – a veteran goalkeeper brought to Forest amid limited game time at a Champions League club (in Navas’ case, PSG). The Costa Rican helped keep the club up last season, and Gulacsi could do the same this year.
