Nottingham Forest are reportedly preparing a move to sign FC Metz midfielder Boubacar Traore this summer, according to Football Insider.
The lowdown: Rise to prominence
Traore arrived in France from Malian outfit AS Bamako in 2019 on a five-year deal and has flourished since landing in Europe, quickly establishing himself as a regular member of the first-team plans for the recently relegated Metz.
The 20-year-old defensive-minded midfielder has made 30 senior outings for the Ligue 2 outfit and also earned international recognition at various youth levels for Mali.
Now having impressed in the French top-flight despite being unable to prevent the drop, Traore is seemingly on the radar of numerous Premier League clubs including the Reds...
The latest: 'Ready to try'
As per Football Insider, Forest, Newcastle United, Leicester and Southampton are all attentive to the Malian's situation with Metz willing to sanction a departure should offers of around £18million be forthcoming.
It's claimed that Monaco, Lyon and Nice are also 'keen' on Traore whilst Wolves 'submitted a bid' for the nine-cap Under 20 starlet that was subsequently rejected in January.
The report also states that the City Ground officials are 'ready to try and lure' the youngster, described as a 'powerful' performer by football broadcaster Andy Sixsmith to the Premier League.
The verdict: Get him in
Central midfield could do with bolstering ahead of the 2022/23 campaign after loanee James Garner returned to Manchester United following a successful loan spell.
During last term, Traore scored once and provided one assist in 27 Ligue 1 appearances, earning a respectable 6.71 Sofascore rating whilst winning 3.8 duels, completing 1.0 successful dribble and making 1.6 tackles on average per game - showcasing impressive defensive and attacking acumen in the process as highlighted by his strong concentration, passing and dribbling attributes (WhoScored).
Valued at a lowly £1.62million (Transfermarkt), albeit ever-increasing and having already completed the transfer of Moussa Niakhate, Forest could be quietly confident of reducing the mooted price demands for the Malian and indeed beat off the strong competition to make this deal happen.