Nottingham Forest are unlikely to make another move for their Cardiff forward Lee Tomlin, according to Nottingham Post journalist Paul Taylor.
Tomlin enjoyed a decent spell at the City Ground on loan from the now Premier League side in the second half of last season, and the Nottingham Post reported that Forest were interested in a permanent move for the player in the summer.
However, Taylor claims that is no longer the case: “He’s decent… but Forest could have signed him in the summer,” he wrote in the Nottingham Post web chat [16/11; 14:25]. “If they had pushed hard, they would have got him.
“But [I] just get the feeling that, if Forest really, really wanted him, they would have pushed harder in the summer. It is a shame to see him sat doing very little, because he is a good player. And he would be a useful guy to have in the squad. As a loan deal, it would make sense.”
OPINION
You wonder whether it’s purely financial reasons that are preventing Forest from bringing Tomlin back to the club on a permanent basis. He did pretty well in the second half of last season and has a good track record at Championship level, but Taylor’s probably right, the club would have just stumped up the cash for him if they really wanted him in the summer. However, he remains at Cardiff which suggests Aitor Karanka isn’t wholly sold on him just yet. As Taylor says, though, a loan move again in January could be a good idea as it would provide Forest with a bit of extra cutting edge, while easing the goalscoring burden on frontman Lewis Grabban somewhat. It’s an interesting one, really, as it could go either way. Another loan could be hashed out, or Forest could simply move on to other targets. We’ll have to see what happens.