Nottingham Forest are keen to make a move to ensure that goalkeeper Jordan Smith re-signs for the club before the start of the season, according to Nottinghamshire Live.

Smith left the City Ground when his contract expired at the end of last season having spent the majority of the campaign as back up to Brice Samba, but the 25-year-old did make his only two Championship appearances of the season in the last two matches and produced some decent performances.

Forest ultimately went on to miss out on a place in the play-offs, but Smith’s two performances in the final two games were not the reason for that and he has shown he is a more than capable back up option for Samba during his time at the City Ground.

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It is thought that Sabri Lamouchi is keen to make sure Smith remains at the City Ground for next season to provide some competition with Samba and extra cover between the sticks, but that it is not yet known whether the keeper would be looking to move on somewhere else for more regular game time.

The verdict

This would be a sensible move for Forest who still need to ensure that they have enough back up options to Samba ahead of the new season, and Smith is a player who has shown he can be that sort of option within the squad who is capable of filling in if and when required.

However, Smith has never been really regarded as Forest’s first choice keeper during his time at the club, barring a prolonged run in the side during the 2017/18 season, and the 25-year-old may therefore feel the time is right to move on in search of more first team minutes.

Were Forest to miss out on re-signing Smith then they would need to search for an able backup once again in the market, and following the disappointment of Arijanet Muric’s performances last season on loan from Manchester City they will be cautious in making sure they find the right option.