“They need top-flight calibre players” – Nottingham Forest set for transfer battle with Rangers over central defender: 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 already making moves following their Premier League promotion, with the club linked with a move for Rangers defender Connor Goldson this summer.

According to The Scottish Sun, Forest are preparing to make an offer to the 29-year-old following their Championship play-off final victory over Huddersfield Town on Sunday.

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper is said to be a big fan of the defender, whose contract expires with the Scottish club this summer.

However, one major stumbling block in the move could be his current club Rangers, who are said to be keen to keep him at Ibrox, and have not given up hope of reaching an agreement with the defender regarding a new deal.

Having said that, we asked our writers here at FLW for their verdict linking Forest with a move for the 29-year-old central defender ahead of their Premier League return.

Declan Harte

The 29-year old has performed well for Rangers in his four seasons in Scotland.

Goldson has gained incredible experience playing under Steve Gerrard and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, including a league title and a Europa League run that brought Rangers to the final.

Rangers have also been incredibly defensively sound during his time in Scotland, which Goldson has contributed to greatly.

This would be a good signing for Forest, who will be hoping their defence can be the basis of a strong first Premier League campaign in 23 years.

Nottingham Forest quiz: Does the City Ground have a bigger or smaller capacity than these 20 stadiums?

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IS THE CITY GROUND BIGGER OR SMALLER THAN HILLSBOROUGH?

BIGGER SMALLER

Charlie Gregory

Connor Goldson is another signing that could really benefit Nottingham Forest going forward.

Now that they’re in the Premier League, they need top flight calibre players and considering the player’s exploits in Europe and for Brighton, he could be what they need.

The 29-year-old has been fairly solid for Rangers at a high level and if Forest want to stay in the top flight, then they need to add players to their ranks who know how to scrap for every point and keep a club in the league.

Goldson would slot seamlessly into their side and could be a really good addition to their ranks because of his prior experience and how high up he has played. Considering it could be a relatively small fee, the move makes plenty of sense.

Toby Wilding

This could be a smart piece of business from Forest if they can manage to get it done.

While Joe Worrall, Scott McKenna and Steve Cook should be solid options in the Premier League, you do feel as though they may need more reliable cover for a top-flight campaign, especially if they keep their three-at-the-back system.

That is something that Goldson could certainly provide, having been one of Rangers’ most solid defensive options both domestically and in Europe in the past few years, meaning you feel he could cope at Premier League level.

Given his contract situation means he could be available on a free as well, this could be a smart financial move for Forest as well, meaning it would seem to make sense for them to try and get this done, however you look at it.