Nottingham Forest face Preston and Stoke competition as transfer focus switches to 10-goal playmaker | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest are among a host of clubs interested in signing Shamrock Rovers midfielder Jack Byrne, according to Protathlima.

Byrne has previously been on the books at EFL sides Wigan and Oldham, before moving to Kilmarnock and then Shamrock in 2018.

The midfielder has been in fantastic form for the Irish side this term, scoring 10 goals in a total of 25 appearances, chipping in with eight assists.

Byrne, 24, has also made four senior appearances for the Republic of Ireland, and is out of contract at Shamrock Rovers in December of next year.

According to Protathlima, Byrne’s signature is set to become highly contested in January after an impressive start to this season.

Forest, Stoke City, Preston North End and Cypriot outfit APOEL have all been credited with an interest in the goalscoring midfielder, with interest from Belgian also being cited.

Forest signed 14 new players over the course of the summer, but have been lacking a creative number 10 following the departures of Tiago Silva to Olympiacos and Joao Carvalho to Almeria.

Luke Freeman has come in on loan from Sheffield United, but has since flattered to deceive and picked up an injury.

The Verdict

This is an interesting one.

Byrne has been exceptional this season, albeit in the League of Ireland, scoring plenty of goals and adding loads of assists.

He was decent in his previous spell in England, but given the way his time at Oldham came to an end, I’d be approaching this one with caution.

This seems to be the type of signing Preston tend to make, and he’d be a quality addition for them in my opinion.