Who is Facundo Ferreyra? The striker Nottingham Forest are currently ‘in talks’ to sign | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest have been linked with the signing of Facundo Ferreyra on a free transfer.

According to journalist César Luis Merlo, a deal is not yet close between the two parties, but discussions have been opened and negotiations are underway.

Forest endured a busy end to the transfer window, bringing in Mohamed Dräger, Xande Silva and Braian Ojeda on Deadline Day. The club also beat the deadline to announce the loan signing of Djed Spence the following day.

Chris Hughton then bolstered his squad with the signing of free-agent Rodrigo Ely, and could be set to swoop for another player without a club once again.

Who is Facundo Ferreyra, then?

Ferreyra is a 30-year-old Argentinean forward who started his career in his native, coming through the ranks at Banfield before moving to Vélez Sarsfield in 2012.

Ferreyra spent only one year with Sarsfield, scoring 17 goals in 25 appearances for the club before earning a big move to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013.

Ferreyra had a hugely enjoyable five years in Ukraine with Shakhtar, winning three Premier League titles, three Ukranian Cups and three Ukrainian Super Cups.

During that five-year spell, he scored 60 goals in 115 games, including 17 goals in 22 Premier League appearances in his final season with the club in 2017/18.

In the early stages of his time in Ukraine, Ferreyra was sent on loan to Newcastle in the 2014/15 campaign, but he didn’t make a single appearance for the first-team and featured mainly for the Under-23s’.

He said: “The defenders are very strong and have to withstand whatever is thrown at them. Here if you are not good physically, you can not play. I’m working on my upper body because you have to hold the ball back and I must learn to use my arms.”

His prolific form in front of goal for Shakhtar earned him a move to Benfica in 2018, but scored one goal in only 12 games for the club during a three-year stay in Portugal.

A loan move to Espanyol materialised in January 2019, scoring nine goals in 36 games for the Spanish side before eventually joining Celta Vigo following his departure from Benfica.

Celta was Ferreyra’s last club, penning a one-year deal with the La Liga outfit last season. The 30-year-old scored one goal in 13 appearances, and is now searching for a new club.