Nottingham Forest
Premier League • England
Nottingham Forest now in hunt with West Ham for Habib Diallo as striker’s dream revealed
Nottingham Forest have joined West Ham and Brighton in the battle for Strasbourg striker Habib Diallo, according to a report.
Diallo has been linked with a transfer to the Premier League in recent weeks. The forward has alerted the likes of West Ham and Brighton. Both clubs are in need of a new goalscorer.
West Ham only have Michail Antonio as a centre-forward. They could finally rectify that issue this summer.
Brighton have also been without a true goal-getter for a while. They finished ninth in the Premier League this season, but only scored as many goals as 17th-placed Leeds.
Therefore, Diallo was recently named as a target for both clubs. And according to ESPN, that remains the case.
However, they now face competition from Nottingham Forest, who won the Championship play-off final to earn promotion to the Premier League for the 2022-23 season.
Forest’s top scorer in their promotion-winning campaign was winger Brennan Johnson. Getting more goals from someone down the middle could help them in their long-awaited top-flight return.
Yet West Ham may be the strongest suitor due to their involvement in European football next season, following their seventh-place finish.
According to ESPN, Diallo is dreaming of playing in the Premier League. At the age of 26, he feels the time is right for a transfer to England.
It is all to play for when it comes to the battle for his services. No asking price is made clear, although there is a reminder that he cost Strasbourg a fee in the region of £9m in 2020.
Since then, he has scored 21 goals in 65 appearances, including 12 from 33 this season. His contract with Strasbourg is due to run until 2025.
But Diallo seemingly feels ready to move on from the club that came sixth in Ligue 1 in 2021-22. In turn, they just missed out on European football.
Habib Diallo has plenty to pick from
As stated, West Ham can offer him that. Yet Brighton and Forest could put together their own appealing projects if the former Metz man is willing to listen.
The report does not suggest he has any particular preference at this stage. Merely, his wish is to play in the Premier League. Now, he has three potential avenues through which to do so.
In theory, the move to Forest may present him with his best chance of regular gametime.
But in all fairness, he could gain a decent amount of minutes at West Ham or Brighton too. Therefore, it will be interesting to see where he ends up this summer.