Nottingham Forest are reportedly looking at signing Real Betis’ Alex Moreno.

What’s the word?

That’s according to David Ornstein, who claims that the club are working to sign the defender.

He notes that whilst negotiations are in the early stages the Spaniard is open to the move.

Forest are actively looking for additional wing-back cover.

He revealed in full: "Nottingham Forest working on deal to sign Alex Moreno from Real Betis. Negotiations at relatively early stage & 29yo Spaniard believed to be open to possibility but no agreement as yet. NFFC looking for cover in wing-back positions."

A deal for Huddersfield left wing-back Harry Toffolo was supposedly in place, but financial disputes seem to have scuppered it late in the day.

Could spell the end for Colback

Although he has deputised well at left wing-back, Colback has only ever been a round peg in a square hole for Forest.

With their influx of Premier League cash, it appears that Steve Cooper is wasting no time in replacing him with this high-scoring, bombarding defender who could do all of what Djed Spence did last season and more.

Moreno currently holds the record for most goals scored by a defender since 2005 for his current club, having bagged five last season.

Having featured 30 times across La Liga for the Spanish outfit, the 29-year-old managed nine goal contributions. This exceptional return could certainly be improved upon further, as he reaches the prime years of his career.

Available for £10m per reports in Spain, this represents great value in today’s market for a newly-promoted side.

Dubbed “quality” by journalist Ethan Lamb, he certainly provides that in spades. He helped Real Betis to a remarkable fifth-place finish.

His 6.85 average SofaScore rating will have aided this, and although Colback boasts a slightly higher 6.94, at the age of 32 his powers will certainly start to decline.

There’s no way he’d be able to go on the marauding runs that Moreno does, and with Spence gone Forest will need a new injection of dynamism.

The Spaniard actually ranks in the 94th percentile for non-penalty goals whilst also recording 6.27 progressive carries per 90.

That’s not to say that he’s not a capable defender, as he still ranks in the 88th percentile for blocks, 87th percentile for clearances and 84th percentile for tackles.

He truly is a wing-back that can do it all, and he would represent a huge coup in the market for Cooper. His arrival would definitely spell the end for the £7.1k-per-week defender.

AND, in other news: Romano: Forest get green light to sign “fantastic” £5k-p/w target, he’s John Terry 2.0.