Nottingham Forest

Middlesbrough’s to boast their squad with nottingham forest star player

Published

9 months ago

January 2, 2024

Scott McKenna’s chances of leaving Nottingham Forest have rapidly increased after a bust-up with the club’s owners following a contract dispute.

The defender has been a key player for Forest since joining the club in 2020, playing over a hundred times in three-and-a-half seasons with The Reds.

McKenna’s performances drew great praise from the Forest hierarchy, who awarded him the club’s player of the season award in 2021/22 when the club won promotion to the Premier League for the first time in decades.

Despite being a key part of the side, McKenna was frozen out of the team this season by former manager Steve Cooper, playing just five times in the league this season.

The defender was dropped from the squad alongside club captain Joe Worrall, and the pair were forced to train away from the first team as they seemed destined to leave the club.

They were brought back into the fold by new manager Nuno Espirito Santo, but it seems it is too little, too late, following a bust-up with the club’s owners at Forest.

Scott McKenna has “no way back” into Forest team

McKenna is said to have “no way back” into the Forest side, despite the recent managerial change at the City Ground.

Football Insider have reported that there is “no way back” for Scott McKenna at Forest, following a bust-up with the owners after a contract dispute at the club.

McKenna’s deal with Forest expires at the end of this season, with no sign of a new contract being signed by the defender who could exit the club in January, with Middlesbrough interested.

The report suggests that McKenna was left out of the team after a dispute between his agent and the “club hierarchy led by Evangelos Marinakis and his son Miltiadis.”

This revelation could accelerate a potential transfer for McKenna, who has been linked with a number of clubs going into the transfer window.

With McKenna’s situation at Forest looking precarious, Middlesbrough lead a group of teams interested in signing the Scotland international in January.

Forest will likely want to sell the defender in the next month, instead of risking losing him for free in the summer when his contract expires.

Boro are linked with both McKenna and Worrall from Forest, with Boro boss Michael Carrick keen to add to his defense after injuries to both Darragh Lenihan and Tommy Smith left them lacking in the back line.

There was some consideration that the sacking of Cooper and appointment of Nuno at Forest could spark hope for a return to the team for the pair, especially after he sanctioned their return to first-team training not long after his appointment.

However, it now seems certain that at least McKenna will leave following the bust-up with the club’s hierarchy, but Forests loss could be a huge gain for Carrick’s side as Boro attempt to close the four-point gap between themselves and the play-offs in the second half of the season.

However, with Fenerbahce and Celtic also said to be interested in the defender, Carrick’s side will have to fight off some potential big-money moves to sign the wantaway Forest man.