Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of the striker Arnaud Kalimuendo from Rennes for a fee of about £26m.
Kalimuendo, who scored 17 goals in Ligue 1 last season, is the latest Forest addition after the arrivals of Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee, signed for £37m and £30m from Ipswich and Manchester City respectively at the weekend. Forest are also expected to sign Douglas Luiz, who is keen on a return to the Premier League from Juventus.
The 23-year-old Kalimuendo, who started his career at Paris Saint-Germain, will provide Forest with welcome attacking depth. Igor Jesus, one of seven summer signings and one of two players to join from Botafogo this window, was signed to provide competition for Chris Wood, who scored twice in victory over Brentford on Sunday, and Taiwo Awoniyi.
Forest explored a deal for McAtee’s former City teammate Rico Lewis but the 20-year-old England defender has suggested he wants to stay with Pep Guardiola’s side. Guardiola expects Lewis, who started City’s 4-0 victory at Wolves, to remain at the club. “For me, I’ve never ever seen myself leaving,” Lewis said after City’s win on Saturday. “I’ve always wanted to play for City. It’s my dream. When I’m playing with the kind of players that I’m playing with, it brings out the best of me. So I’m so happy.”
