OPINION
Nottingham Forest have been linked with a move for Iran international striker Karim Ansarifard for several weeks now.
The 28-year-old forward is without a club since leaving Olympiakos over the summer, and has reportedly been in talks with Forest since the end of August, as per Nottinghamshire Live.
He has now seemingly confirmed that he is close to the move in an interview with the Tehran Times, saying: “I know that I have a difficult task ahead since Nottingham Forest are among the best teams in Championship but I will do my best and I’m happy and I hope to help the team to achieve our goals.”
However, no move has been officially announced, and Forest will now be seriously depleted up front against Sheffield Wednesday in their Championship clash at the City Ground tomorrow after Daryl Murphy was ruled out.
Fellow forward Hilal Souddani is also missing against the Owls, meaning that Forest are massively short up front ahead of the important home match.
This begs the question why the club have not wrapped up this deal for Ansarifard sooner, with the Iranian forward offering a perfect replacement for Murphy on Wednesday and a potential answer for that problem position.
Every point is so important in the race for promotion in the Championship, and should Forest drop some tomorrow against Wednesday because of their shortage up front then it would be a totally unnecessary blow.
If they really have been in talks with Ansarifard for over two weeks then what exactly is going on?
Surely the 28-year-old is not demanding extortionate wages after his release from Olympiakos. He has spent his career in Greece, Spain and Iran, so will surely be happy with the wages that are on the table.
Forest must stop dallying and wrap this deal up as soon as possible to get Ansarifard up to speed as quickly as they can, with the addition of the 6ft ace [Transfermarkt] sure to be a good one for the club.