Nottingham Forest have formulated a high risk/high reward plan in their efforts to sign Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Ramsdale lost his place as Arsenal’s regular starter between the sticks almost immediately after David Raya’s arrival. The Spaniard joined the Gunners on a season-long loan last summer, with the agreement containing an option to buy worth £27m.
Raya performed well in his first season at the Emirates, while a series of concerning errors in Ramsdale’s rare outings suggested Arsenal made the right call by signing Raya.
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Mikel Arteta and Edu always intended to sign Raya outright and the 28-year-old’s permanent move was confirmed on July 4.
Ramsdale is not content to warm the bench for a second season in north London and has previously gone on record to state “never again” when referring to his demotion last term.
The stopper is open to leaving Arsenal who in turn, are also willing to cash in.
The Gunners have already signed two other goalkeepers this window – Lucas Nygaard and Tommy Setford – to bolster their ranks ahead of a potential Ramsdale departure. They remain in the mix for Wolves keeper Dan Bentley too.
Arsenal are understood to have placed an eye-watering £50m price tag on Ramsdale. As you might expect, the valuation has deterred any and all interested clubs from making a concrete move so far.
However, according to the Sun, Nottingham Forest remain in the hunt for Ramsdale and hope to pull off a different type of deal.
Nott’m Forest’s risky Ramsdale plan
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have already sold goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos to Newcastle this window.
Forest’s options between the sticks are now Matt Turner, Matz Sels and new recruit Carlos Miguel. But per the report, Santo is aiming to sign Ramsdale via the loan route and install the 26-year-old as his undisputed No 1 starter.
Forest have zero intention of paying anything close to £50m. They aren’t alone in that regard, with the Sun stating no club has tabled a suitable bid for the keeper so far.
Instead, Forest are content to play the waiting game and make a late loan move for Ramsdale in the latter stages of the window.
Their hope is Ramsdale will still be an Arsenal player at that time and the Gunners’ desperation to find a buyer will result in a loan bid being accepted.
Of course, the risk there is Forest may leave it too late to sign an alternative if they can’t get a deal for Ramsdale over the line in the final days of August.
Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone is also on their radar, though with Wolves, Leicester, Southampton and Bournemouth also seeking a new stopper, Johnstone might not be available for much longer.
Nonetheless, Forest are ready to roll the dice and plan to make a deal worthwhile for Arsenal by paying 100 percent of Ramsdale’s wages.
Furthermore, it’s suggested they’d also be willing to stump up a sizeable loan fee.
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