Nottingham Forest Pursues Premier League Midfielder with Impressive Tackling Stats
Nottingham Forest are desperate to complete their recruitment drive before the Premier League campaign kicks off in a week’s time.
The Reds have been active this summer – although not as active as the last two summer windows – strengthening the squad with six new players.
Eric da Silva Moreira, Elliot Anderson, Carlos Miguel, Nikola Milenkovic and Jota Silva have all signed up and participated in pre-season.
The first of the six was Marko Stamenič – but he has already left for Greece to sign for Olympiacos on a season-long loan and could feature against Forest tonight.
The download deal is far from over, but now a new link has surfaced that, to be fair, came out of nowhere.
Nottingham Forest want Vinicius Souza from Sheffield United
According to Brazilian publication RTI Esporte, Forest are one of the clubs in the mix to sign midfielder Souza from the Blades.
It is claimed that South Yorkshire could cash in on Souza if they raise his £18m fee this summer after a strong recruitment drive.
Souza only signed for United last summer and was a regular in the team as they immediately returned to the Championship after a miserable campaign.
The midfielder played in all but two of United’s Premier League games last season and is now being courted by a host of clubs across Europe.
The article claims that Fulham are attracting further interest from the Premier League, with Lyon and Milan also said to be keen on signing the defensive midfielder.
Who is Vinicius Souza?
The Brazilian artist made his first foray into the Premier League last summer when he joined the Blades for an undisclosed fee from Lommel in Belgium.
He signed for them in 2020 from Flamengo in Brazil but has been loaned out to KV Mechelen and Espanyol in La Liga.
Souza is a midfielder with strong defense among his strengths and to say how bad Sheffield United were last season, it’s fair to say the stats show he wasn’t.
The shooter shows that with 125 clearances last season, he was the third best in this category in the entire division.
He was second only to former Fulham star Joao Palhinho and Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes when it came to successful tackles.
The analysis also lists aerial tackles, interceptions and blocking as his strengths, stating that he likes to tackle but is often fouled.
Forest are only expected to sign Souza if the midfielder leaves
Nicolas Dominguez has been linked with a move to Galatasaray this summer, while Fenerbahce are said to be keen on Ibrahim Sangare – although the deal would be expensive.
Danilo is on Manchester United’s radar, while Ryan Yates has just signed a new long-term contract with the football club.
In our opinion, this connection is very interesting, but it makes us wonder if the Brazilian media are using Forest in the work because they know that the club has a strong connection with the Brazilian market.
The signing of Souza would only make sense if one of the aforementioned midfielders was on his way out of the City Ground this summer.
Right now, that seems like a lot of money for a player who wouldn’t come in and be the first choice at his position, and it feels like a wait-and-see.