Nottingham Forest have been bafflingly linked with Braga midfielder Nikola Vukcevic.

With Jack Colback returning to Newcastle following the end of his loan, there is a vacancy at the centre of the park. However, a move for the Montenegrin defensive midfielder overlooks a more sensible option: re-signing Colback.

Over the course of the second half of last season, Jack Colback and Ben Watson formed a strong barrier in front of the defence. The pair clicked quickly and shored up an often vulnerable defensive backline. Despite his impressive displays, Colback has since been informed that Rafa Benitez does not see him as playing a significant role in his Newcastle side next season. A move back into his established partnership would work for both parties.

This makes the noises surrounding a move for Vukcevic strange. While he is a good player, there will be doubts over whether he resembles a significant upgrade on Colback. Colback’s passing percentage (89.6% to 86.3%), tackles per game (2.7 to 2.2), and key passes per game (0.9 to 0.5) for last season were all higher than Vukcevic’s.

These are not unbridgeable numbers and, given that Vukcevic was playing in the Portuguese first tier, a reverse case could be made. However, they show that the players are much of a muchness. Yet one player has already spent time at the club and has shown themselves to fit in. Forest must ask themselves why they should take a risk on a new player when the potential reward is so small.