Nottingham Forest now make enquiry over signing ‘hugely talented’ £20m Chelsea defender

Nottingham Forest are among several clubs that have made an enquiry over signing Chelsea defender Ian Maatsen.

That is according to a report from The Athletic.

They claim that numerous clubs have expressed interested in Ian Maatsen during recent weeks.

Nottingham Forest, along with West Ham, Benfica and Wolfsburg, have all signalled their interest in the highly-rated Chelsea youngster.

The report adds that Burnley are still favourites to sign the £20million-rated left-back. Maatsen is going to have very fond memories of Turf Moor after playing a key role in Burnley earning promotion from the Championship last season as title winners.

Maatsen is currently away with Chelsea’s main group in the United States for pre-season, where he’s getting the opportunity to catch the eye of first-team head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

The young full-back has made just one first-team appearance in Chelsea colours during his career so far, so it’s a testament to how well he’s done out on loan that clubs are now queuing up to sign him.

He’s an attack-minded left-back we would love to see involved more for the Blues.

Unfortunately, the Dutchman is competing for a position where we already have first-team regulars Marc Cucurella and Ben Chilwell.

Described as “hugely talented” by .Coventry City’s Simon Moore (The Athletic), Maatsen looks like he’ll be a starting left-back in the Premier League in the near future.

Will that be at Stamford Bridge as a Chelsea player, though?

If you see how well he did for Vincent Kompany’s Burnley last season, Chelsea’s £20million price tag definitely seems like a fair price.

Forest will be looking to avoid second-season syndrome, and Maatsen would be a great addition at the City Ground.

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Due to the challenging Schengen visa requirements for the summer, Taiwo Awoniyi and Emmanuel Dennis of the Super Eagles are now unable to travel to Spain to practice with their Nottingham Forest teammates.

Although Awoniyi had a standout season with the reds, scoring important goals that guaranteed their Premier League survival, both Nigerian internationals joined Forest last season.

The team is attempting to find a solution as soon as possible, and manager Steve Cooper is expecting to have the players available for the club’s upcoming preseason matchup against Levante on Saturday.

Awoniyi and Dennis have Schengen visa problems

According to The Athletic, Nigerians need a slightly different piece of paperwork in order to enter Spain, which may help to explain why their visa applications are taking longer than expected.

After coming from Union Berlin for £17.5 million, Awoniyi’s 2017–18 campaign ended with 11 goals across all competitions, making it a highly successful one for him.

Against his former employers, Liverpool, at The City Ground, the 25-year-old scored the game-winning goal for Forest.

When he scored against Arsenal at home, Awoniyi also gave Forest its most significant goal of the year.

Not only did the goal kill Arsenal’s hopes of winning the title, it also guaranteed  Forest who were promoted after 24 years away from the English top division, would stay in the Premier League for at least one more season.

But Dennis, who joined the team for over £20 million from Championship team Watford, managed just two goals in 19 games..

Awoniyi’s latest visa troubles come after he declared a forever love with his wife on social media.