Nottingham Forest are eying up a swoop for Arsenal's Ainsley Maitland-Niles as Steve Cooper looks to add some Premier League quality to the squad ahead of their top-flight return.

What’s the word?

That’s according to Lyall Thomas (via Sky Sports), who claimed that the Midlands club are plotting a swoop for the 24-year-old when he returns from holiday.

Maitland-Niles was close to securing a permanent transfer to Roma in January, but with Arsenal demanding a fee of £12.6m, the move instead turned into a loan deal.

Maitland-Niles can be Cooper’s own Reece James

Nottingham Forest ended a 23-year Premier League exile when they defeated Huddersfield in the Championship play-off final in May, and it is an exciting time for everyone associated with the City Ground club.

Cooper will be looking at adding some fresh faces to the squad, and although the team performed admirably to reach the top flight, further quality will need to be brought in to give themselves the best chance of avoiding relegation.

Maitland-Niles would appear to be a great signing, and Cooper can land his very own Reece James, with the two players being extremely versatile, excelling in various different positions.

While the Arsenal man is two years older than his Chelsea counterpart, his ability to play at either right-back or right midfield, also slotting into the centre of the park, is similar to James, who can also adopt a role further up the field on the right-hand side.

This versatility could be a huge boost for Cooper, and although Maitland-Niles didn’t play as often as he would have liked last season, he still generated 2.15 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes, while also displaying his defensive attributes by making 134 pressures and 22 blocks in 16 league matches.

The 24-year-old didn’t score or set up a goal last season, but if Cooper manages to complete a swoop for him in the transfer window, a proper run of matches at the City Ground should allow the five-cap England international to utilise his attacking talents.

With Peter Crouch previously dubbing the player “tremendous”, it could be a very shrewd move from the Premier League returnees if they pull it off.

AND in other news, Forest eye move for “big” 92-goal “predator”, just imagine him & Johnson