Forest hopeful on 11th summer signing before Bournemouth visit

The Reds welcome their Premier League opponents to the City Ground for a pre-season friendly seven days before their Championship opener at Bristol City.

And Karanka wants to have another defender on board before the weekend, with Sam Byram reportedly close to signing for the former two-time European champions.

A West Ham insider yesterday revealed on Twitter the deal to take Byram to Forest “could be confirmed very soon”.Byram would be Forest’s 11th signing of the summer under new boss Karanka who hasn’t ruled out the possibility of further activity in the transfer market.

Liverpool duo Sheyi Ojo and Pedro Chirivella have also been linked with a move to the City Ground while Ryan Yates could stay instead of going out on loan having impressed Karanka this summer.

“Yes, I hope it happens before the weekend,” Karanka told Nottingham Post. “We have been doing business really well since the season finished. We know the players we have targeted and it is about bringing in the right one.

“We are not going to make a mistake, because we are building a very good squad and we need to be sure that the right-back who comes in, is also the right one.”