Nottingham Forest are said to be in the running for highly-rated Brazilian youngster Pablo Maia.
The 20-year-old midfielder has impressed for Sao Paulo, bringing him to the attention of prospective suitors. And the Reds are reportedly ready to battle it out with Premier League rivals Fulham to secure his signature.
A price tag of about 10m euros (£8.7m) has been placed on Maia’s head, with his club seemingly ready to let him go if an offer reaches that amount. According to Brazilian media outlet LANCE! Fulham have already had an initial bid of 7.5m euros (£6.5m) rejected, with Sao Paulo waiting to see what Forest’s next step is.
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It is claimed the Reds have indicated they “should make an offer” for Maia “in the coming days”. As a result, the Brazilian outfit “wants to wait and see” what is put forward from the City Ground.
English sides are said to have been keeping tabs on Maia since August, when he starred in the Sao Paulo Junior Cup - Brazil’s biggest youth tournament. He has gone on to make the step up to his team’s senior side, racking up regular minutes, including featuring 28 times in the league this season.
A huge overhaul saw Forest make 22 signings during the summer transfer window, following promotion to the Premier League. Young goalkeeper Adan Kanuric then put pen to paper last month, having been training with the first-team - however, that was with a view to him getting minutes with the Under-21s this term.
It has taken time for the Reds’ new-look group to gel. And a tough start to the campaign led to a reshuffle behind the scenes. Recruitment duo George Syrianos and Andy Scott were axed earlier this month, while Italian Filippo Giraldi was brought in as sporting director.
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