Nottingham Forest’s first January signing could be mega £40m hijack on West Ham as ‘contact made’
Nottingham Forest are battling to secure the services of a talent transfer target as they look to replace the goal output of injury hit striker Chris Wood
After achieving the highs of a seventh place finish and an FA Cup semi-final last season, Nottingham Forest have experienced a much more challenging 2025/26 campaign so far, with the club already out of the two domestic cups and often being forced to look over their shoulder in the league amid the threat of relegation.
Forest splashed the cash in the summer to bring an estimated £150m of talent to help their team cope with the extra workload of European football. However, the majority of those signings on the whole have failed to meet expectations particularly when it comes to goals, due to last season’s formidable frontman Chris Wood being absent for almost the entirety of the season.
A timeline on Wood, who scored 20 last term, recovery has not yet been determined, but based on the fact he had surgery on a knee problem in late December, the feeling is that the New Zealander could be out for the foreseeable future.
Nottingham Forest plot move for Jorgen Strand Larsen
Jorgen Strand Larsen, like Wood, enjoyed an impressive individual campaign last season which few saw coming.
The Norwegian frontman joined Wolves from Celta Vigo as something of an unknown quantity to fans in England, but quickly gained popularity at Molineux after scoring an impressive 14 league goals while registering four assists - forming an excellent partnership with Matheus Cunha that inspire Wolves to a six-match winning streak and in the end a fairly comfortable escape from relegation after first half of the season fears.
Following an exodus at Wolves, which saw Cunha, Ait-Nouri and captain Nelson Semedo all depart, speculation was rife that Strand Larsen, despite making his loan move permanent at the start of the summer, would follow suit.
He was the subject of interest from Newcastle, and Wolves even reportedly turned down an offer of £60m for his services, according to Sky Sports.
Larsen reportedly politely informed Wolves of his desire to explore a move away, but was ultimately retained before just weeks later signing a new and improved five-year contract.
The Norwegian has struggled to replicate that form since signing the deal. He’s managed just one goal in 19 matches for an Old Gold team that have won once in that period. His team are almost destined for relegation already due to their awful form, leading to speculation that Wolves could cash in on Larsen, who’s recently been dropped from the starting lineup.
Larsen could be a good fit for Sean Dyche’s side
Larsen’s profile of a 6ft 5in centre forward is something that very much makes him a fit for Sean Dyche’s style of play, which has a heavy emphasis on long balls, crosses into the box and maximising every set-piece scenario.
That’s not to say there isn’t more to Larsen’s game. For example he’s decent technically and is also able to make runs in behind defenders due to his pace. However, it’s clearly something Forest are lacking at the moment due to Wood’s injury, with Igor Jesus despite being one of the more impressive signings, at times lacking that ability to hold up the ball that Wood has.
It’s worth noting that Forest aren’t alone in their pursuit of Larsen, with West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo also showing interest in the forward due to the strengths he possesses.
Ultimately, it could be said that it’s a slight gamble for both given his stark dip in form. However, reports do suggest that Larsen’s value is nowhere near as high as it was over the summer, with a £40m value thought to be enough to secure his services, according to TEAMtalk.
The report adds that Forest have ‘made contact’ with Wolves to attempt to get the ball rolling in terms of negotiations.