Nottingham Forest are reportedly moving in on yet another signing...

What’s the word?

According to French publication Foot Mercato, Lyon’s highly rated attacking midfielder Houssem Aouar has been waiting for two weeks for the Tricky Trees to confirm the deal.

The Premier League outfit had supposedly reached a personal agreement with the midfielder back in mid-August, but are yet to find the right amount to convince the club. It was also thought for a period of time that Forest could move for his teammate, Lucas Paqueta, instead.

Aouar is reportedly available for just €25m (£21m).

He could be the final piece of the puzzle

With Steve Cooper having already added an astounding 17 new players to his newly-promoted side, there is certainly plenty of blending to be done to ensure that this melting pot of new faces can turn into a functioning squad.

However, with one outstanding signing in the engine room, for one of Europe’s hot prospects, they could all be tied together. Indeed, Houssem Aouar could be that man.

Having been heavily linked to Arsenal among plenty of Europe’s elite clubs for many years now, for Forest to snatch the French superstar would not only mark a huge coup, but it would be a powerful statement of intent to the rest of the Premier League.

Last season the 24-year-old featured 36 times, scoring six and assisting a further four in a poor Lyon side that slumped to an eighth-placed finish.

Despite still being very early in his career, he boasts an incredible amount of experience that could lead to him coming to the City Ground and tying everything together.

With 164 games in Ligue 1 and plenty more appearances over both the Champions League and the Europa League, he would instantly become one of the more senior members of the Forest squad in experience.

Another huge component of his game that could see him become the glue that holds Cooper’s side together is his pass mastery, as he ranks in the top 1% for his pass completion rate.

Sitting in the midfield, Aouar could become the metronome of a disjointed Forest side who are looking for something that will unite their many new signings.

The “special” qualities of the Frenchman make him the perfect final player to be added to their squad, and given his experience, pedigree and stature, he might just be the final piece of Cooper’s ever-growing puzzle.