Nottingham Forest set to sign three-time Champions League winner with PSG star to take medical | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest are confident of signing veteran goalkeeper Keylor Navas this month, who are now in ‘advanced negotiations’ with PSG, according to reports.

Steve Cooper will hope the serial trophy winner will bring a strong mentality to the Forest dressing room and provide effective competition for Dean Henderson and Wayne Hennessey.

With the deal almost over the line, Navas is set to become the Tricky Trees’ 24th permanent signing this season: a record that is unlikely to be broken anytime soon.

This is according to Football Insider, who claim that the Costa Rican is set to take his Forest medical in the next 24 hours.

Navas brings plenty of experience and silverware with him, having won three Champions League titles and three league titles during his time at Real Madrid and PSG.

The 36-year-old started his career at Costa Rican club Saprissa, before moving to Spain to join Albacete in 2010.

Navas then penned a permanent move to Levante in 2012 and after two years as a regular starter, Real Madrid triggered his £9m release clause to bring him to the Spanish capital

Navas spent five years at the Bernabeu, initially as a backup to club legend Iker Casillas. However, he eventually earned his chance as the starting goalkeeper and went on to make over 100 LaLiga appearances for the club.

The arrival of Thibaut Courtois in the 2018/19 season put Navas’ starting spot in doubt though and he ended up leaving to join PSG on a four-year contract in September 2019.

Since, Navas has made 71 appearances in Ligue 1 for the French giants and played a key role in two league-winning campaigns in 2019/20 and 2021/22.

However, Navas was pushed down the pecking order in Paris after the signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma and as a result, has made just two appearances in the current campaign.

As mentioned, Nottingham Forest have spent massively this season in an attempt to solidify their spot in the Premier League.

Despite this, they are still in danger of relegation, currently sitting in 13th place, just four points outside the drop zone.

With the deal for Navas almost over the line, he will become Cooper’s fourth January addition, after his club penned deals for Brazilian defender Danilo, attacking midfielder Gustavo Scarpa and Newcastle striker Chris Wood on a loan until the end of the campaign.

The English coach will hope that the reinforcements will add enough quality to his squad to stave off the threat of relegation.

The question regarding Navas though, is whether he will go straight into Forest’s starting XI.

As mentioned, Manchester United loanee Henderson has been Cooper’s first choice between the sticks in the Premier League, while experienced shot-stopper Hennessey has been utilized in the League and FA Cup.

Given Navas would be unlikely to be happy to sit on the bench, there’s a decent chance we could see him feature in Forest’s next league match against Leeds United on Saturday. That is, of course, if the deal goes through as expected.