This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Nottingham Forest are closing in on a deal to sign Malmo midfielder Fouad Bachirou, according to Swedish news outlet SportExpressen.

The Reds have supposedly agreed a £600k deal to sign the 30-year-old defensive midfielder and he now looks on course to become Sabri Lamouchi's fourth signing of the summer.

Bachirou has had a varied playing career, beginning at PSG before moving to the likes of Greenock Morton, Ostersund and Malmo among others.

So, what do you make of this news from a Forest perspective? Good potential signing? Needed?

The team here at FLW take a look....

George Harbey

The more you think about this signing, the more it makes perfect sense.

Forest undoubtedly need to bolster their midfield options ahead of next season. They had a plethora of midfielders to choose from last term, but loanees John Bostock and Alfa Semedo have returned to their parent clubs Toulouse and Benfica respectively, so straight away, there's a need to add depth and replace them.

Ben Watson looks more and more uncertain to sign a new deal at the City Ground given that he's yet to return to training and London-based clubs QPR and Charlton are reportedly keen to lure him away from Trentside, and even though they've brought in Jack Colback, you can't trust Samba Sow to stay fit for the entirety of the 2020/21 campaign.

Bachirou, then, looks set to be a smart signing for the Reds. He's quite small, but he's a tenacious player who looks mobile and looks to get around the pitch really well, a bit like N'Golo Kante.

A lot of fans have drawn attention to the player's age and lack of experience in English football and the Championship, but those fans probably reacted in the same way to Samba Sow's arrival last term, and he has since become a hugely important figure for the Reds.

It would be unfair to write him off straight away.

Did these 12 ex-Nottingham Forest players actually ever score for the club? Have a go now!

 

 

Jacob Potter

I think this is a really good bit of business.

Bachirou has experience of playing at a relatively high level with Malmo, and I think he's more than capable of adjusting to the demands of English football.

Of course there is a slight element of risk when it comes to signing a player that doesn't have any experience of playing in the Championship, but I think he'll provide Sabri Lamouchi with a welcome selection dilemma next season.

The Forest boss already has some strong options available to him in the centre of midfield, but competition for places is never a bad thing.

I still feel as though one of the reasons as to why the Reds missed out on a top-six finish last season was due to their lack of depth.

So, it's good to see Lamouchi looking to address that issue before the new season gets under way.

This could be a shrewd signing by the Reds.

Alfie Burns

Bachirou is a player that’s played at a decent level in Sweden and he’s featured plenty of times in Europe, so that tells you enough about the calibre of player Lamouchi is signing here.

Of course, the difference between the Swedish top-flight and the Championship isn’t massive, but the midfielder should still be able to step into the Forest squad and do a job next season.

Lamouchi probably feels he needs another body in the midfield alongside Jack Colback this summer, such was Ben Watson’s impact last season. Of course, it looks like he’s moving on this summer.

So, it’s easy to understand why Lamouchi is keen on getting the extra body of Bachirou in. Forest can’t afford to be short in the midfield and if they want to right the wrongs of last season, the Frenchman can’t afford to leave any stone unturned.