With talks seemingly at an impasse between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, it appears to be Dean Henderson’s worrying fitness record which threatens his hopes of a permanent move to the City Ground.
There is, according to The Sun, a very real concern that Henderson would fail a medical with Forest due to a thigh problem which forced him to undergo surgery in May.
And it’s not as if Steve Cooper’s side are in a position to turn their attention to another of their leading goalkeeper targets either; Alban Lafont also suffering from his own fitness issues.
Nottingham Forest goalkeeper search goes on
According to Ouest France, Nottingham Forest were weighing up an offer for Nantes’ former France U21 international. The 6ft 5ins Lafont – who became the youngest goalkeeper in Ligue 1 history when he made his debut almost a decade ago at the age of just 16 – sustained a fractured rib against former employers Toulouse over the weekend and will be sidelined for the foreseeable future after being stretchered off.
As such, if Forest had planned to turn their interest into something more concrete, one suspects that they will now be getting cold feet.
Lafont, according to L’Equipe, is valued at around £17 million by Nantes.
“If we can bring some players in, we are desperate to improve the squad,” Cooper said following that 2-1 Arsenal defeat on Saturday, Matt Turner making his debut between the sticks against the club he left a few days earlier.
“Matt and Anthony (Elanga) are in. But that is only really replacing Renan Lodi and the keepers from last season. We know that, if we want to grow and improve in this league, we need to bring some players in.
“I really hope the club can do that now, because it does not get any tougher than this league.
“We managed to survive last season by doing things in a certain way, but we need to evolve that. To do that, we need to add to the starting XI and to the squad.
“Fingers crossed that this can kick in, that it can happen. Because we need it.”
