25 y/o set for Nottingham Forest summer exit | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest full-back Mohamed Drager will be made available for a permanent transfer away from the City Ground this summer, as per a report from Nottinghamshire Live.

The 25-year-old has failed to make a single appearance for the Reds since his arrival in the East Midlands last summer, coming in during the latter stages of August but finding himself in a crowded area at right-back.

Djed Spence went on to establish himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet, with Fin Back, Jordi Osei-Tutu and Carl Jenkinson also able to ply their trade on the right, though Osei-Tutu’s time at the promoted side was hampered by injuries before his early return to Arsenal.

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This presented Drager with a potential chance to shine, but the Tunisian made the bench just once for the senior side and ended up at Luzern on loan, with the Swiss top-tier outfit having the opportunity to make this deal permanent.

Despite appearing as one of the first names on the team sheet for his loan side, recording four goals and seven assists in 21 appearances, they have seemingly opted against making this agreement a longer-term one.

With this, Drager looks set to return to the East Midlands but may find it difficult to force his way into contention with Forest keen on re-signing Djed Spence and already having January signing Richie Laryea at their disposal – and Nottinghamshire Live believe Cooper’s side are open to permanent offers for the 25-year-old.

According to the same outlet, the same applies to left-back Nicholas Ioannou who spent last season with Serie B club Como, with the duo’s likely summer departures creating space on the English side’s wage bill.

The Verdict:

His record at Luzern is certainly not to be sniffed at and this is why you feel he deserves a chance to impress in pre-season because that sort of attacking threat could be a real weapon for a Forest side that like to operate with wing-backs.

If Spence signs, that should give them two good options on the right-hand side, leaving Laryea to compete with a first-choice option on the left and enabling both Gaetan Bong and Jenkinson to depart.

The latter two’s time at the club has been up for a while now – but it does seem as though Drager may have some unfinished business at the City Ground and the player will surely be desperate to try and make this move work after relocating to England.

Even if Cooper didn’t like what he saw before his loan move away from the Midlands, surely the Tunisian gets a second chance to show what he can do? If he isn’t getting that chance, they should be looking to generate a considerable fee for him after seeing him impress out on loan.

And they will also need to find a replacement for him considering their current lack of depth at wing-back, so it will be interesting to see if Cooper includes him in his first-team plans if the promoted side are unable to sell him.