“Hazarding a guess, I’d imagine under £5m” – Nottingham Forest in transfer chase for Huddersfield Town player: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Nottingham Forest are set to bid for Huddersfield Town defender Harry Toffolo, according to The Athletic.

The Championship club recently triggered a one-year extension to keep Toffolo at the club beyond this summer but it seems the Reds are going to try and prize him away from them.

But would he be a good signing? And how much could he cost?

We quizzed our FLW writers…

Quiz: 23 things literally every Nottingham Forest fan should know – But do you?

1 of 23

When were the club founded?

1860 1865 1870 1875

Alfie Burns

There were a few of Huddersfield’s starting line-up in the play-off final that you felt could take the step up to the Premier League even if the Terriers didn’t – Toffolo was one of those.

Consistently over the last two seasons, he’s been one of Huddersfield’s best players. Combining solid defence with lung-busting runs forwards and plenty of assists.

For my money, he’s in the top three left-backs in the Championship so, naturally, he’s a good option for Forest to be targeting for the Premier League. He will adapt to the level they’ll be at and improves the starting line-up.

In terms of the fee, it’s not going to break the bank.

Huddersfield have been targeting a long-term contract agreement with Toffolo for some time now and it’s not come off. You do feel like if it was going to, it would have already.

So, this is one of the last opportunities for Huddersfield to bank a fee for Toffolo.

Hazarding a guess, I’d imagine under £5m, which does feel particularly cheap for someone that’s been so impressive in the Championship since he joined Huddersfield.

Josh Cole

When you consider that Forest are no longer able to call upon the services of Max Lowe and Gaetan Bong, they will need to add to their options at left-back this summer and thus Toffolo could be the perfect fit.

A stand-out performer for Huddersfield last season, Toffolo delivered the goods on a consistent basis in a defensive sense whilst also offering an attacking threat as he was directly involved in 14 goals in the Championship

Whereas it may take Toffolo some time to adapt to life in the Premier League due to the fact that he has never played at this level before, there is no reason why he cannot go on to thrive under the guidance of Steve Cooper.

Having helped Brennan Johnson take his game to new heights last season, there is no reason why Cooper cannot go on to get the best out of Toffolo.

Toby Wilding

This does look as though it could be a rather useful signing for Forest if they can get it done.

With Max Lowe’s loan over and Gaetan Bong released, Steve Cooper’s side do look short on reliable options on the left-hand side of their defence, so this may be something of a priority for the club in the summer window.

Toffolo is someone who can fill that role, and the attacking capabilities he has shown in that position, means he should fit in well with the way Cooper has been using full-backs at The City Ground, while his performances in helping Huddersfield to the Championship play-off final suggest he could be ready to step up to the Premier League.

Considering there is just a year left on his Huddersfield contract, the pressure to not lose him for free next summer, means the Terriers may be forced to accept a fee that is lower than some might think he is actually worth.