Nottingham Forest are in talks with Neal Maupay and his representatives about a potential move for the Brighton and Hove forward before this summer’s transfer window is out, according to The Telegraph.
Maupay rose through the youth ranks and earned first-team promotion at OGC Nice in 2013. Two years later, he made his way to Saint-Etienne where he played for two seasons and moved on to Brentford, but not before having a short loan spell with Stade Brestois.
Brighton signed him in 2019 from Brentford, who were still in the Championship at the time, signing a four-year contract which is still valid. Since then, he’s gone on to make a total of 109 appearances in all competitions for the Seagulls, scoring 27 goals and assisting seven times. At the start of this season, he watched on from the bench as his team beat Manchester United at Old Trafford in the opening round of the Premier League, and these talks were the reason why he was left out of the squad completely for the goalless draw against Newcastle played on Saturday.
Forest are boosting their ranks notably as they prepare for the season which has already started and which sees them competing in the English top flight for the first time this century. Maupay’s arrival would add to the presence Jesse Lingard, who’s come in from Manchester United as a free agent, and that of Emmanuel Dennis who has joined Steve Cooper’s ranks from Watford for a reported fee of £15 million. The club expect to spend around that amount on Maupay as well.
