Nottingham Forest have already identified their no.1 target for the January transfer window, it has been revealed, as they look to kick on after a strong start to the Premier League season.
Chris Wood spearheading Nottingham Forest success
A resurgence of New Zealand striker Chris Wood has helped Nottingham Forest enjoy an excellent start to their 2024/25 Premier League campaign. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have lost just once in their opening nine games, and currently sit seventh in the Premier League, a place and three points above his former Tottenham Hotspur side.
Much of that success has been down to Wood. The 32-year-old raised plenty of eyebrows when he was signed from Newcastle United, but has proved all of his doubters wrong with a run of form that has seen him behind only Erling Haaland in goals scored in the Premier League across the calendar year.
Seven of those have come this season, as the veteran has powered Forest up the table, with his goals rescuing a mammoth ten points for Forest across six games.
Premier League top goalscorers
Player
Club
Goals
Erling Haaland
Manchester City
11
Bryan Mbeumo
Brentford
8
Chris Wood
Nottingham Forest
7
Cole Palmer
Chelsea
7
Mo Salah
Liverpool
6
Nicolas Jackson
Chelsea
6
Danny Welbeck
Brighton
6
Forest will be hoping that his form will help them continue to pull well clear of the relegation zone, having only narrowly avoided the drop last season following a points deduction. And they are set to be active in January to try and ensure that they avoid a repeat performance.
Forest eye up priority signing in January
That is according to reliable Nottingham Forest reporter John Percy, who outlines that a new striker is the club’s priority for the upcoming window.
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Beyond the seemingly evergreen Wood, Forest only have injury-prone Taiwo Awoniyi, and that is clearly not enough to satisfy Nuno despite the fans’ affection for the former Liverpool talent.
Forest looked at signing another striker in the summer, but were unsuccessful in their pursuits of both Eddie Nketiah and Santiago Gimenez despite bidding for both. And Percy claims that a new focal point remains their priority.
“I think a striker has got to be the priority. They obviously looked in the summer and sort of rained back a bit and thought, let’s just wait, which we’ve all said at the time was another sign of the evolution of the club and maturity. But I think that’s going to be the number one priority”, he explained.
It comes amid links to Corinthians striker Yuri Alberto, who Forest are reportedly eyeing up in January as they look to repeat their success with Murillo, albeit with this deal being agreed on an initial loan move should it happen.
Should they be able to find capable backup for Chris Wood, Forest will be confident of finishing the season in a strong position and well clear of any potential relegation threat.