Nottingham Forest are preparing a summer bid for Gillingham central midfielder Kyle Dempsey, according to reports.

What's the word?

That's according to Football Insider, who claimed that a recruitment source has revealed Chris Hughton's side have reignited their January interest in the 25-year-old in an attempt to bring him to the City Ground this summer.

It is also reported that Gillingham would be looking for a fee between £500,000 and £750,000 in order to part with the midfielder, and when the news of Forest's interest was relayed on Twitter, many fans of the club seemed delighted by the prospect of the 25-year-old's signing.

Astute signing

So far this season, Dempsey has been in remarkable form over his 38 League One appearances for Steve Evans' side, scoring eight goals and providing four assists for the Gills. He has also averaged 1.2 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 1.2 key passes per game, culminating in an average WhoScored match rating of 7.00 - ranking him as the club's joint sixth-best performer in the third tier.

This attacking influence from the middle of the park is something which has sorely been lacking at Forest this season, with James Garner, Ryan Yates, Samba Sow and Filip Krovinovic managing just six goals and four assists between them in the Championship.

Furthermore, with Forest paying the likes of Garner around £17,000 per week, Sow £18,000 per week, and Krovinovic £14,000 per week, it would appear as if the modest £3,000 weekly wage of Dempsey would be well worth the cost for Chris Hughton and his side, even when taking into account the reported asking price for the player who Gillingham assistant manager Paul Raynor dubbed a "winner".

Raynor also claimed that Dempsey's creativity was something that he believed the Gills had lacked prior to his arrival from Fleetwood Town back in August of last year - something which could easily be applied to Nottingham Forest at present.

As such, Hughton should do all he can to get a deal over the line for the 25-year-old midfielder this summer, as Dempsey has a proven track record of providing the creative spark to lift his team out of a slump.

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