Summary Nottingham Forest could sign a big-money defender before the window is up. The price it may take has now been revealed. They're comparable to Ruben Dias & Ibrahima Konate.
Nottingham Forest are still on the lookout for reinforcements to bolster the quality of their squad this season, and now a fresh update has emerged on the club's pursuit of a transfer target.
What's the latest Nottingham Forest transfer news?
According to journalist Alan Nixon, Nottingham Forest are in talks to sign Chelsea centre-back Trevoh Chalobah this summer.
Nixon revealed on his SubStack subscription platform: 'Nottingham Forest are in talks with Chelsea for versatile star Trevoh Chalobah,
'Forest want extra class and are prepared to buy or loan the Stanford Bridge squad man who can play centre half or midfield.
'Steve Cooper has been a fan of Chalobah for some time and would like to sign him – as he prepares to bring in money from the sale of Brennan Johnson.'
How good is Trevoh Chalobah?
After struggling to retain their Premier League status in a difficult relegation battle last season, the Garibaldi will need to do a lot better defensively over the current campaign to ensure they can compete comfortably and establish themselves as a top-level side.
As a result, the signing of Chalobah could be a great opportunity for Steve Cooper to bolster the defensive presence at The City Ground, adding the quality and experience needed to have a much more convincing campaign in the top flight.
Over 25 Premier League appearances last season, the 24-year-old – who has a reported £45m price tag – tallied up an 89% pass completion rate, completed an impressive 89% of his dribbles and won 57% of his duels combined, as per SofaScore. Impressive numbers indeed; this is a player who is brilliant at progressing the play.
Not only that, Chalobah can offer Forest a lot of versatility as he is not only a reliable centre-back but also has a wealth of experience in adapting his positioning to a defensive midfield role and right-back, which would be a valuable asset to Cooper over the season ahead and beyond.
In fact, Cooper could land his very own Ibrahima Konate with the Liverpool star named as one of the most comparable players over the last 12 months, as per FBref's similar player model.
Interestingly, that list contains some of the elite names in football; including Manuel Akanji, Eder Militao and Ruben Dias.
Chalobah and Konate happened to share several similarities in their outputs last season including pass completion rate (87.6% v 87%), shot-creating actions per 90 (0.90 v 0.99), successful take-ons (80% v 71.4%) and interceptions in total (24 v 26). It's clear, then, that these two players are comfortable with the ball at their feet.
Despite being in and out of the Chelsea squad over the years, the talented defender has been the recipient of high praise over his short career, with former Blues boss Frank Lampard waxing lyrical about Chalobah last season:
"He’s such a selfless lad. He doesn’t say ‘I want to play in this position’.
"Maybe (his best position) will become apparent, but I think he’s played really well in a back three for the club."
"He’s a delight to train with every day because he comes in with an enthusiasm, low maintenance, and when you talk about the things you want, he tries to do them on the pitch, which is a great thing."
With that being said, if Forest could strike up a deal for Chalobah this summer it would be a major coup for the club and would provide Cooper with a Premier League experienced talent who can offer huge quality this season and beyond.
