Freelance journalist and Nottingham Forest fan Daniel Storey joined Matt Davies on the latest edition of Forest-focused podcast Garibaldi Red to discuss all of the latest news concerning the Reds. During the show, they spent some time talking about the possibility of Fulham winger Anthony Knockaert moving to the City Ground before Friday’s domestic transfer deadline.
After spending the 2019/20 season on loan with Fulham, helping them to earn promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs, Knockaert joined the Cottagers on a permanent deal during the summer.
However, following Chris Hughton’s appointment as the new Nottingham Forest manager, the Reds have been linked with a loan move for the 28-year-old Frenchman before Friday’s deadline.
During this recent edition of the Garibaldi Red podcast, Storey shared his thoughts on the possibility of Knockaert joining Forest and linking back up with the manager who he played 139 games under at Brighton and Hove Albion, saying: “Anthony Knockaert would be a Chris Hughton signing which would give me a jolt of enthusiasm, in that at least it would suggest that what he wants is being taken on board.
“I know he’s appointed as head coach or manager and that’s the eternal question at Forest – how much influence does the manager have; how much influence did [Sabri] Lamouchi have over the signings this summer? So, that would be a good sign.”
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TIF Thoughts on Nottingham Forest potentially signing Anthony Knockaert…
Judging by his comments, it certainly seems as though Storey would be happy to see the Reds get a deal for Knockaert over the line, with the journalist suggesting that this would indicate that Hughton has got some say over the club’s transfer business, which he thinks would be a positive.
As per Transfermarkt, only three players have made more appearances under Hughton than Knockaert during his managerial career, while Knockaert has also provided more assists (25) than any other player under Hughton, so it may be understandable if the 61-year-old coach would like to add him to his squad for this season.
However, considering that the Frenchman only joined Fulham on a permanent basis during the summer, perhaps it would be unlikely that they will want to loan him out this soon, even though the £4.5m-rated 28-year-old is yet to make a Premier League appearance for Scott Parker’s side this term.