Nottingham Forest need a new right-back to compete with Tendayi Darikwa after Saidy Janko and Sam Byram returned to FC Porto and West Ham United. The Sun say one player the Reds are considering is Alan Hutton after his release from Aston Villa.
The 34-year-old had a stint at the City Ground in 2012/13 and could be available if the Reds match his £30k-per-week demands, but there is stiff competition for his signature – Football Insider say Hull City and Wigan Athletic are in the race for Hutton.
Hutton spent eight years at Villa, making 202 appearances in all competitions. When his future at the club was in doubt in 2012, he joined Forest on loan and made seven appearances. The Scotland international may not be a regular at the City Ground in 2019/20, but he would be a good squad player.
Martin O’Neill doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on new recruits this summer, so bringing in Hutton on a free transfer is good business. The experienced defender was a regular at Villa last season and is more than good enough to provide backup to Darikwa at the very least.