Nottingham Forest legend Kenny Burns believes that Premier League clubs like Everton, Crystal Palace and Southampton will ‘stump up’ their offers for Forest star Matty Cash in January.
In his column for the Nottingham Post, Burns was talking all things Cash and he also talked of the interest Premier League clubs have in the 22-year-old. The trio of Palace, Southampton and the Toffees were linked with a move for the player last week.
He said: “Would Everton, Crystal Palace or Southampton stump up £12m? Of course they would.
“Premier League clubs get to January and get desperate to strengthen their squads and because he’s British, his price rises markedly. Could there be a scenario where an Everton buy Cash and loan him back to Forest for the rest of the season? Maybe.
“He’s probably more likely to be given a first-team chance at a club like Southampton or Crystal Palace, so that could be unlikely should he move to one of those. Let’s not forget the player here, and what they want.
“While Forest are challenging right now, every player wants to play at the highest level and a move to the Premier League would be difficult to turn down for Cash. You don’t know how long your career will last and how many chances to play in the top division you’ll get.”
Forest’s best player this season
Cash did play further forward for the Reds in the Championship last season, playing as the left-winger or as the right-winger. In that position, he had played 36 times in the league last season and had scored six times, racking up a tally of two assists as well.
This season, Cash has played as the club’s first-choice right-back. In every game so far, the Englishman has played in that very position. He has appeared 14 times in the Championship so far this season, scoring twice and assisting just as many times for Forest.
This is Cash’s fourth full season at the City Ground as he was loaned out to Dagenham and Redbridge in the second half of the 2015-16 campaign. Since then, he has come into the Forest first-team and has just risen up the ranks at the club.
Cash is a product of the Wycombe Wanderers youth academy and joined Forest from the FAB Academy in the summer of 2014.
TIF Tactics
It is no surprise that Cash has attracted interest from some Premier League clubs. He has arguably been the Championship’s best right-back this season. WhoScored have given him the right-back spot in their Championship XI of the Season so far.
For Forest, he has been the club’s highest-rated player by WhoScored with a rating of 7.27. He has scored twice and assisting twice, but he has been very good defensively too.
Cash has been the club’s second-best tackles in the league, winning 2.8 tackles per game. He has been the side’s third-best interceptor, winning 1.4 interceptions per game in the Championship.
Premier League sides would look at those numbers and that will catch their attention. If a Premier League offer does come, it will be nothing less than what Cash deserves. He has been consistent for Forest over the last three season and at the age of 22, he has shown enough quality to warrant a Premier League move.