Nottingham Forest are now back in the promised land of English football. They are in the business of bulking up their squad to make it suitable for the Premier League. Taiwo Awoniyi arrived from Union Berlin recently and, as per John Percy, they could be about to dip back into the Bundesliga market with Bayern Munich defender Omar Richards a target.
Nottingham Forest in Talks to Sign Bayern Munich Defender
#nffc are in talks with Bayern Munich over a possible deal for left-back Omar Richards. Fee of around €10m being discussed, but Forest face competition from Lyon. Richards joined Bayern last May from Reading
— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) July 5, 2022
Where Omar Richards Would Fit In at the City Ground
Omar Richards was highly rated during his time with Reading and was one of a number of promising youngsters. Whilst he got the move abroad, then teammate Michael Olise went on to Crystal Palace and has excelled thus far. Focusing on the club the Bayern Munich full-back could be entering into and these are positions of need for Forest.
On the right-hand side, Djed Spence’s loan move is unlikely to be made permanent with Neco Williams seemingly being Steve Cooper’s choice as his replacement. Meanwhile, they have Canadian Richie Laryea who can operate on either flank, then Gaetan Bong and Max Lowe who are the left-backs. Lowe was first-choice but only managed 1,622 minutes in the Championship due to injury.
Between Lowe’s injury woes and Bong’s age, there is certainly room for the left-back to play. It remains to be seen how he would fare playing regularly in the Premier League but at a fee rumoured to be in the region of £10 million, it could certainly work out for the Lewisham-born 24-year-old.
Read more: Reading Full-Back Omar Richards Joins Bayern Munich
Why the Bayern Munich Defender Has Struggled to Hit the Ground Running in Germany
Kinetic graduate Omar Richards made his debut last night for Bayern Munich in the @DFB_Pokal, playing 90 minutes and providing an assist for Leroy Sané 👏🙌 @OTRichards_ 🤩 https://t.co/2z50ibTNWw #KineticAcademy #KineticFoundation #Football #FindYourFuture #FootballAcademy pic.twitter.com/KEZDnCrson
— Kinetic Foundation (@Kinetic_Coach) August 26, 2021
It was always going to be a struggle for Richards, making the jump from Reading to the German Giants. Youngsters like Jamal Musiala have been afforded the chances at the Allianz but that hasn’t been the case with the Bayern Munich defender. He racked up a mere 437 minutes across 12 appearances, only five of which were starts.
It proved difficult for Richards to force his way into the plans of Julian Nagelsmann. French duo Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez were in and amongst the top 10 played Bayern players for the last term so it was an uphill battle from the start. Also, fellow young defenders Josip Stanisic and Nianzou Kouassi saw more playtime than the Englishman.
Richards took the plunge when it came to joining the Bavarian side but his time at Bayern Munich never really worked out. Lyon are also said to be pursuing his signature.
