Nottingham Forest are interested in a deal to bring Jordan Hugill to The City Ground this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by The Athletic, who claim that Chris Hughton's side are keeping a close eye on the Norwich City centre-forward ahead of a potential move in the summer transfer window.

However, it is also stated that, following Dane Murphy's appointment as the Garibaldi's new CEO, the club are believed to be targeting summer signings under the age of 26, with it being unclear at present whether the 29-year-old is actually one of the players the club would make an exception for.

Finally, it is believed that Norwich would first have to bring in a new striker of their own in order for Stuart Webber to sanction the departure of Hugill this summer.

Muphy must move

While it would appear as if there are a number of obstacles in the way of a move for Hugill this summer, should the opportunity to sign the forward arise, it would be highly advisable for Murphy to indeed make an exception to his rule and do all he can to bring in the striker this summer.

Indeed, while he did not play a starring role in the Canaries' title-winning campaign last season, the £1.8m-rated man nevertheless impressed over his 31 Championship appearances - only seven of which came as starts - scoring four goals and creating two big chances for his teammates. That was as well as taking an average of 0.8 shots and making 0.2 key passes per game.

These returns saw the man Farke dubbed a "leader" earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.70, with the German manager going on to claim that the £36k-per-week striker was a "key player" in his side's promotion. He also claimed the 29-year-old "works his socks off always in each training session" as well as being "crucial for the spirit within the whole dressing room."

Furthermore, while it is obviously a near-impossible task to dislodge a striker of the 26-goal Teemu Pukki's quality in the Norwich side, Hugill has proven in the past that he can be the leading man in a club's attack, scoring 13 goals and providing one assist over his 39 Championship appearances while on loan at Queens Park Rangers in 2019/20.

And, with Lewis Grabban having failed to hit his usual heights at The City Ground last season, scoring just six Championship goals, the addition of Hugill could well bring out the best in the 33-year-old once again next term, with the Norwich man being more than capable of playing alongside Grabban in a front two or simply just pushing the £1.08m-rated man for his starting spot in Hughton's side.

Either way, it would very much appear as if Hugill's signing would be something of a coup for Forest this summer, and is a transfer Murphy must do all he can to get over the line ahead of next season.

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