Nottingham Forest look to follow-up their purchase of Awoniyi with a bid for Joe Aribo

ENGLISH Premier League side Nottingham Forest are looking to build on their recent signing of Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi with the capturing of another Super Eagle in the form of Glasgow Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo.

On Friday, newly-promoted Forest completed the signing of Awoniyi from German Bundesliga side Union Berlin in a deal worth a £17.5m (€20.5m). In a deal which shatters Nottingham Forest's previous record when it paid £13.5m for Joao Carvalho in 2018, Awoniyi has signed a five year contract with the club.

As part of a plan to rebuild their squad having made to the Premier League, Forrest are now reportedly leading the race to sign Aribo. Highly rated due to his recent exploits in Scotland, Aribo is attracting major interest from English Premier League sides ahead of a decisive summer.

Aribo's contract at Ibrox expires at the end of the 2022/23 season, meaning Rangers could be enticed into selling him during this transfer window to avoid losing him for a free next summer. Crystal Palace are huge admirers of the Nigerian international but Nottingham Forrest have jumped ahead of Patrick Viera's side, according to the Scottish Sun.

Steve Cooper, the Nottingham Forest manager is actively looking to strengthen his squad but to get Aribo, he will have to jostle with several over sides. For instance, Aston Villa are also monitoring Aribo with their manager Steven Gerrard interested in a potential reunion with the versatile star.

Rangers paid a fee in the region of £300,000 to sign Aribo from Charlton in 2019. Aribo will likely land Rangers in excess of £8m if he departs Govan this summer, bringing the club a tidy profit.