One winner and one loser in Nottingham Forest’s pursuit of Sam Byram

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Nottingham Forest are set to further enhance their promotion credentials this week when they are expected to complete the loan signing of West Ham United right-back Sam Byram.

According to the Nottingham Post, the 24-year-old will pen season-long loan terms at the City Ground and the ex-Leeds United man will become Forest’s eleventh signing of a tireless summer on Trentside.

Injury restricted the defender to just five appearances in the Premier League last season and a move to Forest looks like being a sound one for all parties, not least Byram who will be keen to get his stuttering career back on track.

At present Forest have Tendayi Darikwa as the only senior right-back in their squad and following the departure of Eric Lichaj, who joined Hull City earlier in the summer, the club now needs some competition on the right-hand side of the back four.

As with any transfer there are winners and losers and here we take a look at one winner and one loser in Sam Byram’s switch to Nottingham Forest…

Winner – Aitor Karanka

The signing of a right-back is seen by many Forest supporters as the deal that will complete Karanka’s squad for the 2018/19 campaign and in Sam Byram they couldn’t realistically be signing a better one.

The former Leeds man was mightily impressive during his time with the Whites and Forest will be desperately hoping that he can recapture such a level of performance during his stint at the City Ground.

Current right-back Tendayi Darikwa was in impressive form towards the back end of the 2017/18 campaign but Byram’s arrival will undoubtedly provide some good quality competition in an area that has proved problematic for Karanka in the past.

Loser – Leeds United

In a really weird way Nottingham Forest taking Sam Byram on loan will further dampen the spirits of Leeds United supporters as it will see the Whites miss out on yet another reported transfer target.

A tweet from @ExWHUemployee earlier in the summer had indicated that the Whites were ready to offer Byram a route back to Elland Road and should he opt for a move to the East Midlands instead, it would represent a devastating blow for Leeds.

Leeds have already missed out on defender Kyle Bartley and striker Matej Vydra this summer and not signing former fan favourite Byram is likely to deeply rile the Whites’ ardent supporters.