Nottingham Forest are edging closer to signing Scott McKenna from Aberdeen.  

Sabri Lamouchi’s side have endured a tough start to the Championship season and suffered back-to-back defeats, as well as crashing out of the League Cup.

Results are poor, but a new signing is on the horizon.

Quiz: Have Nottingham Forest ever loaned out any of these 9 players?

 

John Percy at the Telegraph reported over the weekend that Forest were in talks over a deal to bring McKenna to the City Ground, with things expected to progress in the coming days.

The centre-back, 23, is a Scottish international and has also made over 100 appearances for Aberdeen already in his career.

It looks a good signing, but what knock-on effects will the arrival have at the City Ground?

We take a look…

Back-four balance

 

Joe Worrall and Tobias Figueiredo have been Forest’s go-to defensive duo for the large part of Lamouchi’s time with the club, but McKenna arriving would break them up.

That’s not a bad thing, as the Scottish international arrives with a fine left-foot, which will give the defensive unit a lot more balance.

The likelihood is that Worrall will partner the new addition, giving Forest two young centre-backs, who provide the perfect balance.

Between them, they are powerful enough to deal with your Kieffer Moore’s of the Championship, but they’ve also got enough culture with the ball at their feet to be progressive and get Forest playing a slick brand of football.

Deadwood shifted out

 

Moving away from what McKenna is going to bring on the pitch, you’d imagine his arrival paves the way for some exits.

With Figueiredo falling down the pecking order, others will do the same.

It’s easy to forget the likes of Michael Hefele and Yohan Benalouane are still on the books at the City Ground, but McKenna arriving surely puts them on the verge of an exit.

More Lamouchi pressure

 

Three defeats in all competitions at the start of 2020/21 has piled the pressure on Lamouchi, who is still looking to heal the wound opened up at the end of the previous season.

Adding to the pressure on him is the fact he’s been backed in the transfer window; Jack Colback, Luke Freeman and Lyle Taylor are all good additions to the squad. McKenna adds to that list.

With a new centre-back on the books, results have to pick up and, if they don’t, the pressure is going to intensify.