Nottingham Forest are going to miss out on the chance to sign Deivid Washington from Santos this summer. The player is now travelling to England but will instead sign for Chelsea.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the Blues are set to get their man. They’re going to win the race to sign the striker, with an initial fee of £15 million now agreed.
Chelsea will also fork out another £2 million in add-ons. Washington will be signed on the back of a serious injury to Christopher Nkunku who will be out for around three months.
The 18-year-old has been in decent goalscoring form for Santos. During the 2023 campaign, he’s scored six goals from 22 appearances and he’s set to become a big player.
Chelsea clearly rate the player very highly. It’s believed that they’re going to give him a contract until 2029, with the option to extend it by another year.
Forest target Washington has sizeable potential and Chelsea are clearly tapping into the South American market. Already this summer they’ve signed Angelo Gabriel who was also linked with a move to Forest previously.
Forest are definitely in the market for a new striker. Taiwo Awoniyi has been injured for some of pre-season, whilst Chris Wood is the only other option and he’s scored just once for the Reds.
Forest to miss out on Chelsea-bound Washington
This is a bit of a blow, although not a catastrophic one. Washington is very good but it’s very unlikely that he will be making an immediate impact on the Premier League.
Chelsea can afford to sign a quality young player with the hope that he will be ready for the top flight in a couple of years. Forest, however, need someone who can come in and play now.
Washington clearly has some talent. Forest have tapped into the South American market themselves recently and they might be a little disappointed over this one.
Chelsea are perhaps short of strikers. However, they’re in the market for other options and it will be very interesting to see what Mauricio Pochettino has in store for him at Stamford Bridge.
Forest have taken a more meticulous approach to transfers this summer. They will need to step things up in the coming weeks though, with the squad now looking a little short on options.
