“Could prove to be an ideal replacement for James Garner” – Nottingham Forest to battle West Brom for summer signing: The verdict

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 reportedly keen on Blackburn Rovers midfielder Joe Rothwell, who is set to become a free agent. 

The Telegraph’s John Percy has claimed that the Reds will make an offer to the midfielder irrelevant of which division they’re playing in next term.

They face competition from West Bromwich Albion but would he be a good signing for Forest? And do they need him?

Our FLW writers have their say…

Josh Cole

This could turn out to be an incredibly clever bit of business by Forest as they will need to draft in a replacement for James Garner this summer as the midfielder is set to return to Old Trafford when his latest loan deal expires.

Rothwell could prove to be an ideal replacement for James Garner as he has illustrated this season that he is more than capable of delivering the goods for Blackburn.

In the 41 appearances that he made for the club in the Championship, Rothwell provided 13 direct goal contributions as he averaged a WhoScored match rating of 6.95 at this level.

Regardless of whether Forest secure promotion via the play-offs this month, Rothwell could prove to be a valuable addition to their squad as they aim to move forward as a club under the guidance of Steve Cooper.

Declan Harte

Rothwell would be a very solid addition to the Forest side, having performed really well for Blackburn this season.

The Reds will be without James Garner beyond this campaign, so the 27-year old could make for a really shrewd signing to replace the Manchester United youngster.

Rothwell has been a key player