Nottingham Forest are interested in signing Wolves centre-back Willy Boly in the summer transfer window, according to reliable journalist John Percy.
The Lowdown: Niakhate suffers injury
The Reds have made a promising start to life back in the Premier League, and while there are plenty of positives to take, thew news regarding Moussa Niakhate is not one of them.
Forest's summer signing has been ruled out of action for a sustained period through injury, coming as an undoubted blow for manager Steve Cooper.
With Niakhate set to be absent in the coming weeks and months, it looks as though the Reds will turn their attention to signing another centre-back.
The Latest: Forest in talks over Boly
Taking to Twitter on Saturday evening, Percy claimed that Forest wanted to sign Boly, with the Wolves powerhouse into the final year of his contract, and that the Reds have already submitted an opening offer.
The Telegraph journalist tweeted:
"#nffc are in talks with #Wolves over a possible deal for centre-half Willy Boly. Opening offer of around £1m rejected, talks ongoing though nothing believed to be imminent as Wolves will try to sign a replacement. Forest moved for Boly after the injury to Moussa Niakhate."
The Verdict: Too injury-prone
Boly is an experienced Premier League defender with 89 appearances to his name in the division, and Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves described him as 'important' last season.
Unsurprisingly given his 6 foot 5 frame, the Ivory Coast defender is a colossal presence in the air, winning two headers per game last season. That aerial ability could compensate for the absence of Niakhate, who had won 11 headers in his two top-flight appearances before being struck down with injury.
However, there would be an element of risk in Forest snapping up the 31-year-old, considering that injury problems of his own have limited his playing time in recent years. Indeed, he only managed 10 league starts in 2021/22.
The fact that Boly is into the last year of his contract could allow the Reds to get him in a cut-price deal, but it could be wise to look at a younger, less injury-prone option instead.