Chris Hughton is looking to bring Chuba Akpom to Nottingham Forest this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by The Northern Echo, who claimed that both Forest and Hull City are keen on a move for the Middlesbrough striker, with the Teessiders reportedly looking to recoup the majority of the £2.5m they spent on the 25-year-old last summer.

However, there has been some uncertainty regarding the validity of the Reds' links with a move for the former Arsenal centre-forward, with Nottinghamshire Live claiming that they are unaware of there being any interest from Forest in the £2.88m-rated man.

Hughton must move move

Regardless of whether or not Forest's reported interest in Akpom is concrete, there are a number of reasons why a move for the striker would not be a wise move by Hughton.

Firstly, since arriving at the Riverside Stadium last summer, the former England under-21 international has struggled for form, scoring five goals, providing two assists and creating one big chance over his 38 Championship appearances this season. That has culminated in a disappointing average SofaScore match rating of 6.69 - ranking him as the club's seventh-worst performer in the league.

As such, Akpom did not outperform Forest's Lewis Grabban - who scored six goals and averaged a SofaScore match rating of 6.75 - in the Championship. His returns only marginally bettered Lyle Taylor's league haul for the Reds, with the 31-year-old scoring four goals and averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.64, neither striker having a good campaign by anybody's standards.

Secondly, with the Middlesbrough striker reported to be earning a whopping £27,000 per week at the Riverside Stadium, this wage would appear grossly inflated for the output the forward - whom Arsene Wenger once dubbed a "dangerous" player - managed for the Teessiders this season.

Finally, as previously mentioned, with both Grabban and Taylor in the Forest team at present, there would not appear to be an urgent need to bring in another striker this summer, unless they were a significant upgrade on either of the aforementioned players - something we have established that Akpom is not.

As such, it would be highly advisable for Hughton to turn his focus away from the Middlesbrough man this summer - if indeed it was ever on the 25-year-old - as he could end up being a repeat of Taylor's own underwhelming signing last year.

In other news: "Tremendous" £40k-p/w Forest ace drops update which will surely leave Hughton raging - opinion