Strangely, Nottingham Forest is still looking to add a goalkeeper before the summer transfer window opens.
The Reds have a variety of stoppers at their disposal, each with differing levels of expertise. With Carlos Miguel joining from Corinthians to serve as the Belgium stopper’s backup, Matz Sels is now the best.
Next is Matt Turner, who just a year ago signed a £10 million contract with Arsenal and is currently the third-choice player. The Bundesliga has expressed interest in Turner, so it’s reasonable to assume that Forest will attempt to move him this summer. Nuno Espirito Santo is eager to recruit a goalkeeper before the transfer season ends, thus his departure may open up space for another one. The team may now have some good news on that front.
Goalkeeper with ties to Nottingham Forest might suddenly be available for transfer.
Sam Johnstone might fetch roughly £10 million from Crystal Palace, according to David Ornstein, The Athletic’s transfer expert. Before Sels was signed during the January transfer window, Forest attempted to sign the one-cap England stopper.
The Eagles were reluctant to approve a deal back then, but they are now open to negotiations if their asking price is satisfied. Steve Cooper, a rival of Forest’s, may be vying for Johnstone, with Leicester, Wolves, and Southampton also interested in signing goalkeepers.
After a disappointing season the previous year, Johnstone was the first pick for the 2023–24 campaign. Garth Crooks referred to him as “unbeatable” in November, but Dean Henderson dispossessed him to retain the goal in the latter few months of the campaign.
If one were to arrive, Forest would undoubtedly be selling two goalkeepers.
While it’s not uncommon for teams to have three senior goalkeepers in the lineup, it can seem unusual for a team like Forest. Turner is currently the third-year player for the Reds, and at thirty, he will undoubtedly want to be playing football on a regular basis. Given Sels’ play at the end of the previous season, it might be unfair to him—who is also in his thirties—if Forest were to sign a new number one.
Miguel is only 25 years old, but he has never played in England. Is there a chance that, should another goalkeeper be brought in, he may go on loan?
In any case, it appears that Forest is eager to sign another, and the circumstances definitely seem strange. It might indicate that Espirito Santo isn’t very impressed with any of his current crop if Johnstone or another goalkeeper signs this summer. The 31-year-old former Manchester United trainee would be another stopgap, and the £10 million contract doesn’t seem like a particularly good bargain.
But a good goalie is said to be worth an extra 10–15 points a season, so who can blame the Reds for switching if the team believes Johnstone can increase that total?
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