Nottingham Forest's January has been a month to forget, with their last outing being a 2-1 home defeat to Arsenal.
Luckily for the Forest fans, good news was announced this morning as Giovanni Reyna is set to join the Tricky Trees.
However, their transfer activities are set to continue beyond the American, with Nuno Espirito Santo looking to further strengthen his attack.
A busy end to the window for Forest
Alongside a deal to sign Reyna, the Tricky Tees are working on a move to seal the signature of a brand-new centre forward.
It looks as though they've found their man in Sporting Lisbon's Rodrigo Ribeiro with Fabrizio Romano revealing the news on Wednesday morning.
On top of that, it's believed a winger could also arrive at the City Ground before the transfer window closes on Thursday night.
Indeed, according to a report from the Daily Mail, Forest are exploring a move to sign Maxwel Cornet of West Ham.
The deal for the 27-year-old would be a loan lasting until the end of the season. The Irons man is in desperate need of more game time having started just two matches all term.
Evidently, Forest's inability to spend due to their restrictions has forced them to scout the loan market for potential steals.
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ByCharlie SmithFeb 1, 2024 How Cornet could boost Awoniyi
Taiwo Awoniyi returned from injury on Tuesday night against the Gunners, and the Nigerian marked his return with a goal.
This was the striker's fifth goal of the season in just 11 matches, and his return could be vital for Forest's bid for survival. That was the case last season, with the 26-year-old scoring six goals in the Tricky Trees' last four matches.
The former Union Berlin forward has the potential to become a deadly attacker, and Cornet could just get the best out of him if he were to leave the London club.
Cornet's time at the Hammers hasn't been particularly memorable, as the winger has only started three Premier League games since his £17.5m move from Burnley. His only league start this season saw him get on the scoresheet, but the majority of his involvement has been in European competitions.
Therefore, the table below shows his statistics from West Ham's Europa Conference League winning campaign and how he compares to positionally similar players.
Goals
0.00
Bottom 81%
Assists
0.43
Top 10%
Shots total
1.71
Bottom 65%
Key passes
2.99
Top 2%
Shot-creating actions
5.97
Top 4%
Tackles won
2.13
Top 2%
Tackles (Mid third)
2.13
Top 1%
As you can see, Cornet took on plenty of creative responsibility in the West Ham team rather than scoring goals for himself. His low shots total and the fact he ranks highly for assists support that, which will no doubt suit Awoniyi, who thrives off service.
The former Burnley player's key passes and shot-creating actions also prove that he can produce magic in the final third, which makes him the "cheat code" in attack that journalist Josh Bunting described.
Another aspect of Cornet's game that may go unnoticed but can improve Awoniyi, is his ability to win the ball for his team, as shown by his high tackles statistic. The fact that most of them are in the middle third of the pitch too shows that the 5 foot 10 attacker can pinch the ball when his side are in a low block, while also suggesting that he can track back to prevent a transition.
Awoniyi thrives on the counter – Forest notably scoring the most 'fast breaks' in the Premier League this term – where he can use his pace and power to dominate defenders, and getting him into those positions more often will see his output increase.
Overall, the loan move for Cornet would be a decent short-term signing that could just give Forest a better chance at remaining in the Premier League, and therefore it is a move that makes sense for both parties.