Have Nottingham Forest just been given the biggest signal yet to go and get their former loanee in on a permanent deal?
Sam Byram has been linked with a move away from the London Stadium for some time now, with West Ham even going so far as to offering him in a swap deal to try and land Solomon Rondon. Now it appears as if his time at the club is edging ever closer to an end.
He has been left out of West Ham’s squad for their pre-season games in Asia as part of the Premier League Asia trophy, the biggest signal yet that Manuel Pellegrini has no intention of using him this season.
One thing we aren’t certain of is whether or not new boss Sabri Lamouchi will be willing to bring in someone that he hasn’t worked with before and missed a huge part of last season with a knee injury.
However, Lamouchi did follow through with the signing of Arijanet Muric, despite being linked with a move for another goalkeeper in Abdoulaye Diallo and hasn’t shipped Sammy Ameobi off despite being an O’Neill signing. So if there’s enough love for Byram within the Forest camp then there’s still a chance that Lamouchi could pull the trigger and make the move happen, but he might need some convincing.
Lamouchi has already done a fantastic job in laying down ‘his footprint’ on the side, by bringing in players he wants and telling those that he doesn’t that they aren’t welcome. However, the squad still needs addressing in certain areas, and right back is one of them, with only Tendayi Darikwa as an out-and-out right back available.
The sooner the position is sorted out the better, and seeing as West Ham have already pushed Bryam to a stage where he’s one foot out the door, that’s only doing to drive his value down and make him a more intriguing asset for a number of clubs. That’s why Forest need to act quickly in signing up Byram before someone else does.
