HITC - Championship giants Nottingham Forest have been linked with Iran's World Cup star Karim Ansarifard but would he start for Aitor Karanka's side?
Lewis Grabban is starting to show Nottingham Forest fans why the club paid £6 million for his services this summer.
The former Bournemouth striker endured a slow start to life at the City Ground but is now starting to justify that price-tag with four goals in his last three Championship starts, including a brace in Saturday’s 2-2 draw away at Blackburn Rovers.
As a result, the need to bring in free agent Karim Ansarifard does not appear quite so pressing.
Forest have been relentlessly linked with the Iranian international since the end of August and, with the East Midland giants struggling for goals at the start of the season, a player who scored 18 goals in 27 games for Olympiakos last season looked like a fine solution.
As reported by the Nottingham Post in late September, Forest were looking to bring in Ansarifard within the next few weeks with his arrival seemingly a case of ‘when’, not ‘if’.
But Grabban’s sudden return to form, not to mention the promising recent displays of target man Daryl Murphy, suggests that signing Ansarifard isn't something that needs to be completed as soon as possible.
Iran’s World Cup star will certainly add extra firepower to Aitor Karanka’s side and should improve their attack when he arrives. For now, however, Forest can rely on Grabban to get them the goals they need.