According to Paul Taylor of Nottinghamshire Live, Nottingham Forest are keen on signing Sam Byram this summer but are struggling to agree a deal with West Ham for his signature. Taylor believes the Hammers aren’t on board with letting Byram leave in 2019/20 which could mean disappointment for Forest.
He said in Friday’s webchat: “At the end of the season, Forest wanted this to happen. And the player himself made it quite clear that he would be very happy to come back. The only thing that wasn’t clear was how West Ham felt about it all.
“But, with respect to him, it is hard to see him being involved in their first team next season. He is basically back to the position he was in last summer. He needs to play regular football to build up his match fitness and get his career back on track again.
“Byram is a good player who would be a useful asset in the Forest side. It would be particularly useful if they could agree a loan move with a clause to make the deal permanent, if he does do well and gets through the season without any further problems.”
The 25-year-old join Forest on loan in August and went on to make eight appearances in all competitions. Byram featured just once in the Championship at the start of last season before he suffered a serious knee injury that required surgery and kept him out of action until April.
He impressed in a small handful of appearances at the end of the campaign and said he was open to re-joining Forest this summer, but the Reds haven’t made any progress and may have to turn their attentions elsewhere. West Ham may want to keep Byram as backup at right-back next season.
At Forest, Tendayi Darikwa is the only right-back in the first-team, so Martin O’Neill has to make it a priority to strengthen in this area if they can’t get Byram. We’ve spoken about James Bree’s potential availability and Forest’s links with Tom Lockyer, but it’s unknown who they’ll sign if they don’t get the £30k-per-week man.
