With preparations well underway at Nottingham Forest for the upcoming Championship campaign, Martin O'Neill will be hoping to bolster his squad this summer by bringing in some new additions.

Yet in order to solve the conundrum that is the right-back position, the 67-year-old may be about to re-sign Sam Byram from West Ham United.

According to the Nottingham Post, the Reds have reportedly made the 25-year-old their number one target after being impressed by his performances whilst on loan at the club.

An extremely gifted player with a proven history of delivering the goods in the second tier, Byram could turn out to be the signing which takes Forest to new heights next season.

Keeping this in mind, here are THREE reasons why we think O'Neill should try everything he can to secure the defender's services over the coming months...

When fit, he produced several encouraging displays for Forest

Although Byram was only able to make eight appearances for Forest after suffering a serious knee injury during the opening weeks of the season, when he was fit enough to play, he sparkled at times in defence and therefore it may be worth O'Neill taking a risk on him.

Indeed, given his unfortunate history with injuries, there is every chance that the former Leeds United player will breakdown again at some point in the future yet given his undeniable talent, it would be foolish for the Reds to pass up on an opportunity to sign him.

He could provide some much-needed attacking threat

With O'Neill switching between a 3-4-3 and a 4-5-1 formation during the 2018/19 campaign, Byram featured both as a full-back and as right midfielder in which he excelled in both roles.

Whereas his primary target is always to protect his own goal, the fact that he can also provide a threat going forward could end resulting in a transformation in the way that Forest play football next season as signing him could allow them to adopt a more expansive style.

He still has the potential to become a top player

Although Byram hasn't been able to reach the heights that were expected of him when he initially burst onto the scene as a teenager at Leeds, there is still plenty of time for him to develop into a quality operator.

However, in order to fulfil his potential, the full-back may have to leave West Ham as with the likes of Ryan Fredericks and Pablo Zabaleta ahead of him in the pecking order at the London Stadium, he may struggle to receive the sufficient amount of game-time.

Therefore, a move to the Reds could be beneficial for both parties as the East Midlands-based outfit will be receiving a player who has the ability to develop in the future, whilst Byram will be able to get his career back on track after what has been an immensely frustrating couple of years.