Nottingham Forest hold 'talks' for Bundesliga defender whose fans adore him

Nottingham Forest are in "talks" to sign defender Moussa Niakhate from German club Mainz, it has been said.

The 26-year-old has played at least 30 games in each of the last four Bundesliga seasons, but is out of contract next summer so could be available at a lower price than expected.

If Niakhate were to arrive at the City Ground, he would provide competition for Joe Worrall, Scott McKenna and Steve Cook - with Tobias Figueiredo having already left and Loic Mbe Soh unlikely to feature in the Premier League.

The former French under-21 international is highly regarded among Mainz fans and has already been linked with moves to Everton, Newcastle and West Ham this summer. Fans of the Bundesliga club are not keen to see him go and believe he is capable of playing for a top Premier League side.

According to Sky Sports, Forest have "held initial talks" with Mainz over the signing and is one of "a number" of players Steve Cooper and his recruitment team are looking at for the centre-back position.

Sky Sports' Dharmesh Sheth tweeted: "Nottingham Forest have held initial talks with Mainz over the signing of central defender Moussa Niakhate. Former French U21 international has a year left on his contract. He’s one of a number of players they are looking at in that position."