Nottingham Forest boss Chris Hughton has played down talk that Samba Sow could leave the Reds in this window.

The 31-year-old has been an important player for the East Midlands outfit since joining in the summer of 2019, and he has made 14 appearances this season, with many of those coming under Hughton.

Therefore, it was something of a surprise to see reports suggesting the defensive midfielder could make a switch to Turkish top flight club Erzurumspor before the deadline.

However, speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, the Forest boss cooled talk of an exit, stating that it's just 'speculation', whilst he implied he wouldn't want to lose a central midfielder right now.

"Samba is a player who has played abroad, and when you’ve done that, you tend to get a little bit more speculation abroad - particularly if it’s a country you’ve played in before.

"Just speculation. Central midfield is an area where we’ve had injuries and we need to protect players as much as possible."

Forest are back in action this weekend as they take on Barnsley at the City Ground.

Quiz: Did these 25 players make more or less than 100 Nottingham Forest appearances?

The verdict

This is welcome news for Forest fans, as Sow still has an important role to play at the club.

And, with the club battling relegation, they are not in a position to lose influential, experienced players, which Sow certainly is.

Of course, things can change quickly in football, but these comments are pretty clear from Hughton, and it indicates the midfielder will have a role to play for the Reds moving forward.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.