"It's true": Taylor reveals NFFC closing in on 7th signing, supporters will be buzzing - opinion

Daniel Taylor has dropped an update on surprise Nottingham Forest transfer target Jesse Lingard.

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic journalist revealed that, following a number of late-night reports on Tuesday claiming that Forest had launched an offensive to hijack West Ham United’s move for Jesse Lingard, these reports are indeed true.

Taylor went on to state that talks between the 29-year-old and Steve Cooper’s transfer team are underway, with Forest said to be willing to break their wage structure in order to get a deal over the line for the former England international.

In his tweet, the journalist said: “It’s true: Nottingham Forest really are trying to sign Jesse Lingard. Talks underway and NFFC willing to break pay ceiling for former Man Utd and England player. Lingard has been speaking to West Ham but Forest trying to close surprise deal.”

While it is true that, over the past few years, Lingard had fallen down the Manchester United pecking order – with the forward starting just 11 Premier League fixtures for the Red Devils over the last three campaigns – considering just how impressive the 29-year-old was during a loan spell at West Ham in the season before last, it is evident just how much talent the attacker still possesses.

Indeed, over his 16 Premier League fixtures for David Moyes’ side in the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, the £16.2m-rated forward was in breathtaking form, scoring nine goals, providing five assists and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.6 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing 1.1 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the 32-cap international average a simply sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.19, ranking him not only as