Forest could potentially land 'perfect' PL centre-back for just £22m, fans should be thrilled - TBR View

By Giuseppe Labellarte

Nottingham Forest are reportedly closing in on their first two summer signings.

Dean Henderson is “one step away” from joining the Reds on loan, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire Live has reported that Taiwo Awoniyi is on his way to Forest for a medical.

So that’s a goalkeeper and a striker sorted, if all goes well.

Steve Cooper is also looking to bolster his defensive ranks.

And one centre-back reportedly on his radar would be a superb acquisition, and not overly expensive either.

According to the Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur’s Joe Rodon has become a key target for Forest.

The Wales international has been unlucky at Spurs and could do with being rescued.

Rodon joined Tottenham in October 2020, during a window when Premier League clubs could only do deals with Football League clubs.

Spurs desperately needed to bolster their defensive ranks after losing Jan Vertonghen to Benfica, while Juan Foyth left Villarreal on an initial loan.

“Works very hard”

Jose Mourinho rated Rodon highly, Chronicle Live quoting him as saying in March 2021: “He works very hard, good professional.

“He has to do nothing, he cannot play in the Europa League so that makes his chances reduced, in relation to the other guys.

“Centre-back is a position where of course if he was in the Europa League he would have lots of chances to play in these 11 matches that we did.

“There’s nothing. He’s perfect, works very hard, young guy, wants to learn, very enthusiastic.

“He played already matches that represent a lot, he played important matches against some of the best teams.

“He has just to wait for his opportunities and to get it.”

Rodon has barely had a look-in at Spurs, with just 24 first-team appearances to his name.

Despite his game-time struggles at Tottenham, the 24-year-old has impressed for Wales, showing what he can do when given ample game time.

Rodon played the full 90 minutes as the Dragons beat Ukraine 1-0 in their playoff final earlier this month.

Barring injury or illness, the 6ft 4in ace is a shoo-in to make the Wales squad for Qatar 2022.

In terms of Forest’s chances of signing him, The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare claimed the Tottenham centre-back is available “at the right price”.

And in January, CBS Sports claimed Spurs wanted $27million (around £22million) for Rodon amid links with Newcastle.

Forest could potentially sign a 24-year-old, 6ft 4in World Cup-bound centre-back, who knows the English game well, for under £25million.

As far as transfer targets go, this is a no-brainer, and fans should be buzzing over the prospect of landing Rodon.