Forest In For Chambers?

Nottingham Forest could have to pay up to £300,000 to land Northampton defender Luke Chambers.


Colin Calderwood is keen on the 21-year-old he helped nurture while manager at Sixfields.

But his valuation of closer to £100,000 has so far been rebuffed by Northampton.

No further approach has been made since last month, though Forest are expected to move again before the transfer window closes at the end of January.

Chief executive Mark Arthur believes Forest are being quoted inflated prices when entering the transfer market. But he is confident they can land their targets if they bide their time.

Northampton seem determined to hold out for a sizeable fee for Chambers, even though his contract expires in the summer.

Given that he is under 24, the Cobblers are confident they will receive a healthy sum if the fee has to be decided by tribunal.

But manager Stuart Gray has not given up hope of keeping the highly-rated centre back beyond the end of the season. He believes Chambers would be better served continuing his development at Sixfields.

‘There’s no substitute for the experience you get by playing lots of games,’ he said.

‘Luke has got a lot of good attributes but he’s not the finished article.’

Southampton, meanwhile, are unlikely to follow up any interest in Nathan Tyson – unless they can offload teenage defender Gareth Bale in a big money move.

That could clear the way for a £1.5m bid for Tyson. Any move would still depend on Forest being willing lose a player so crucial to their promotion plans.

Southampton are the latest club to be linked with the former Wycombe hit man after Birmingham looked at him earlier in the season.




Nottingham Evening Post