Nottingham Forest in talks to sign £17m World Cup star

Nottingham Forest still have creases to iron out ahead of the new season, but Oliver Glasner‘s outfit is shaping up nicely.

Recently, the Tricky Trees were defeated 4-1 in a pre-season friendly against Sporting CP, but it did reinforce the understanding that Glasner will employ a 3-4-2-1 system. The picture is becoming clearer, but there’s a sense that Glasner still needs to strengthen in the middle of the park after Elliot Anderson completed a £116m move to Manchester City.

Anderson, 23, is one of the most exciting midfielders in Europe, and though Glasner has pragmatically replaced him with Xaver Schagler, a star he knows well from shared time at Wolfsburg, it should go without saying that more is needed.

A number of creative midfielders have been earmarked. There is still optimism that Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall will sign, but the latest target is Manchester City’s Tijjani Reijnders, surplus to requirements at the Etihad.

Why Forest are now looking to sign Reijnders

Last summer, Man City signed Reijnders from AC Milan for £46.5m. He arrived regarded as an elegant and powerful box-to-box midfielder, skilled on the ball and eagle-eyed when slotting passes forward.

Dutch icon Frank Rijkaard hailed him as “one of the best midfielders in the world“, and though he started the 2025/26 season with aplomb, Pep Guardiola dropped him down the pecking order as the term progressed.

Reijnders did flake away across the course of the campaign, though, and given that City would demand a significant fee to see Forest act on their interest in the 28-year-old, it might be worth looking elsewhere.

REUTERS/Jay Biggerstaff

Sure, Glasner has resources to draw from after Anderson’s big-money sale to City, which has strengthened relations between the two outfits, but there are still alternative routes for the Midlands side to explore.

Nottingham Forest in talks to sign World Cup star

Glasner wants more signings, and even after signing Schagler, there is no question that further reinforcements are needed in the centre of the park. Reijnders is emerging as a top target, but he’s not the only one who could feed into Glasner’s transitional playing style, securing midfield and creating progressions from midfield to attack.

If they go down a different track, Colombian midfielder Gustavo Puerta could be the perfect option. As per Portuguese reports, Forest have opened talks with Racing Santander as they pursue a deal for the 23-year-old, looking to beat Hull City to his signature.

Puerta impressed with Colombia at the World Cup, and given that he is available for a comparatively affordable €20m (£17m) fee, there is no reason for Glasner and Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis not to advance their interest.

Puerta has the completeness to offset the sale of Anderson. Moreover, he is younger and hungrier than Reijnders, so could be the right man to step into an incipient Forest project.

At the World Cup, Reijnders struggled to play an effective role for Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands. In particular, he lacked the requisite defensive nous, and given the need for industriousness inside a Glasner system, there’s a case to be made that he might not be the perfect fit.

After all, the Dutchman won only 1.7 duels and made just 0.4 tackles on average each game across the 2025/26 Premier League season, whereas Puerta averaged 5.2 duels per match in Spain’s second tier.

The respective midfielders played slightly different roles, and La Liga 2 is not as strong a competition as the Premier League. However, Puerta is riding the crest of a much bigger wave right now, and he could bring a fresh kind of hunger to this Forest side in transition.

A dynamic and hard-working midfielder, Puerta excels in breaking up play and turning defensive phases into penetrative attacks. He is somewhat like Anderson in that, and he may be able to play a similar role to Reijnders at the City Ground, though with a more rounded approach.

Reijnders hasn’t enjoyed the finest stint in the Premier League so far, but, of course, there is every chance that he will bounce right back and thrive for a side such as Nottingham Forest.

However, Puerta would be a breath of fresh air. He is on the rise, and proved this summer that he might prove an even better signing than Reijnders.