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Nottingham Forest would be better off avoiding this €4m Spanish star and here’s why

Nottingham Forest Opinion: Forest shouldn’t reignite interest in Antonio Raillo

According to Nottinghamshire Live, Nottingham Forest are about to reignite their interest in Spanish centre-back Antonio Raillo in the ongoing summer transfer window, with the report claiming that Forest are likely to be back in the market for one of their previous targets.

Forest were linked with a move for the 27-year-old defender back in the January transfer window when Aitor Karanka was in charge. But Nottinghamshire Live understands that the club might reignite their interest in the centre-back, who helped his club RCD Mallorca to a promotion-winning campaign in the Spanish second-tier last season. 

The same report suggests that Raillo, who is in the final year of his contract at Mallorca, has a release clause of €4million in his current deal. The Spanish outfit are trying to convince him to pen a new deal upon promotion to the La Liga. 

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Forest kicked off their summer business with the dismissal of Martin O’Neill and the subsequent appointment of Sabri Lamouchi as the new manager.

Lamouchi has shown a lot of urgency in the transfer market so far by opting for a mini squad overhaul, with the Frenchman completing a triple raid on the Portuguese market for the likes of Yuri Ribeiro, Alfa Semedo and Tiago Silva.

The likes of Albert Adomah and Sammy Ameobi have also arrived at the City Ground this summer on free transfers to boost the forward line, whilst talented shot-stopper Arijanet Muric has also been brought in on loan from Man City. 

However, there have been a few departures as well, with players like Karim Ansarifard and Hillel Soudani, as well as loanees Molla Wague and Pele heading for the exit door. And a few others are expected to follow suit, as Lamouchi continues to assemble a squad in his own image.

With that in mind, however, one area which Forest do not actually need to think about too much is the centre-back department, given the abundance of talent in their existing defensive ranks.

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Despite the departure of loanee Molla Wague to parent club Udinese, Forest still have the likes of Michael Hefele, Tobias Figueiredo, Alexander Milosevic, Yohan Benalouane, Michael Dawson, Joe Worrall and Jack Robinson as viable options at the heart of the defence, which is definitely more than enough.

Dawson and Benalouane are very experienced centre-backs, whilst Joe Worrall would be expected to play a substantial role next term following an incredible loan stint at Rangers north of the border last season.

Figueiredo has been at the club for just a single season and, while he failed to nail down a regular starting role last season, the Portuguese star definitely deserves another crack of the whip.     

To put things into perspective, it is quite clear that Forest don’t need to invest in another centre-back as a part of their plans heading into the upcoming campaign, unless, of course, Lamouchi has a massive defensive overhaul on his mind.

Going by what we have seen of him so far in the transfer window, that doesn’t really seem to be the case, with the Frenchman looking more interested in upgrading his attacking and midfield options. 

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Looking at things from the player’s point of view, Raillo is going to get a chance to prove his credentials in the La Liga next term, meaning that a move to the English second-tier isn’t likely to appeal to the 27-year-old any longer.

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Also, as evident from the above discussion, Forest should focus more on investing in other areas of the squad because they are already well-stocked in their centre-back options.

Conclusion

That said, the two-time European Cup winners would be better off forgetting about the Spanish defender for the time being.