Who Should Nottingham Forest Target to Reach the Top Five?

European football is back at the City Ground for the first time in three decades, but Nottingham Forest won’t help but feel that they lost out on a golden chance to play in the Champions League this season. The East Midlands outfit held a top-five place for almost five months, before eventually settling for Conference League football after only winning two of their last eight fixtures, with a final day defeat to Chelsea the final nail in the coffin.

The Reds’ stellar season was mainly down to some standout stars in their squad, as well as smart moves in the transfer window last summer (Forest's brilliant 2024/25 business was touched on in this article here!). Players like Morgan Gibbs-White, Murillo and Danilo could all be out the door, especially as the club are required to keep within profitability and sustainability rules.

Replacements will need to be made. If Forest can scout and make the right moves in the transfer window, the 2025/26 season could be a chance to break into that top five that they were so close to. So here are five players we at Football Park think Nottingham Forest should target this summer.

1 - Yoane Wissa

Brentford’s dynamic duo up top looks certain to be no more, with Bryan Mbeumo already in transfer talks with other clubs. His partner Yoane Wissa could be following him out the door, and Forest would be an ideal destination.

With Chris Wood ageing and Taiwo Awoniyi potentially moving on, Forest are crying out for a new forward. A move to the City Ground would give the 5”9 forward a chance to play in a European competition for the first time ever, a chance Wissa richly deserves after scoring 19 goals in the Premier League last season.

Of the 29 players who have had 30+ big chances presented to them this season, only four have scored more than they have missed:

🇵🇱 Robert Lewandowski
🇨🇦 Jonathan David
🇫🇷 Ousmane Dembele
🇨🇩 Yoane Wissa

True marksmen 🎯 pic.twitter.com/DcxJSpgbst
— LiveScore (@livescore) May 9, 2025

2 - Barış Alper Yılmaz

From a player with no European experience to one with plenty at the age of 25. Yılmaz is one of Turkiye’s highest valued talents, and is a key player for Galatasaray. The winger has been on the radar of Forest for a while, and will provide a rapid option on the wing to compete with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga.

Picking up players with European pedigree must be a top priority for Forest. With Yılmaz having previously expressed a desire to play in the Premier League, this transfer is both a realistic target and an interesting prospect.

6 goals in his last 6 games for Barış Alper Yılmaz 🟡🔴@GalatasaraySK | #UEL pic.twitter.com/sD890nDETo
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) January 13, 2025

3 - Jaka Bijol

Moving away from attacking individuals and onto a centre half, Bijol is being eyed up by multiple Premier League clubs, and for a good reason. The Slovenian has been capped 61 times by his country at the age of 26 and has a handful of Champions League appearances with CSKA Moscow.

Bijol has just completed his third Serie A season at Udinese (Forest will be thankful that Watford aren’t in the Premier League), and is now looking for a new challenge. A serial tackler and aerial presence, the last time the Reds signed a Balkan centre-back from the Serie A, he became their player of the season, just saying…

🇸🇮 Jaka Bijol with a great performance against Portugal tonight.

- 10 clearances
- 7 headed clearances
- 3/5 aerial duels won
- 5/10 duels won
- 4 recoveries

He is one of the most underrated defenders in Europe in my opinion.

Been very good at #EURO2024. pic.twitter.com/ZbrzOAqfnH
— Bence Bocsák (@BenBocsak) July 1, 2024

4 - Evanilson

If Evangelos Marinakis also wants to sign a classic target forward, on top of the Wissa deal, then Evanilson could be the way to go. The Brazilian is another forward that has proven himself in the Premier League, and with Bournemouth missing out on European football, the Cherries frontman could be looking to regain the continental action he enjoyed at Porto.

Evanilson takes more shots per 90 than Chris Wood, and after hitting double digits in his first season could be a forward ready to explode in his sophomore Premier League year.

90+6' 🤯

Last time out against Villa, Evanilson struck LATE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bKxClKFWOg
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) May 9, 2025

5 - Jean-Clair Todibo

West Ham are another team that will have a large squad reshuffle, and Todibo has been reported as a defender who could be on the transfer list. Despite signing him a few days ago permanently from Nice for £39 million, due to a clause in his loan contract, it has not fully worked out for the former Barcelona youngster in the English capital.

Jean-Clair Todibo is expected to be made available for sale this summer as soon as his obligation to buy deal for £36M goes through.

[@MailSport] pic.twitter.com/2ksGQhesHF
— COYIrons (@COYIronscom) May 29, 2025

Todibo, however, has shown glimmers of hope and no doubt can still build a career in England, especially at the age of 25. A recurring theme on this list, Todibo has already played in Europe for Nice and Barcelona, and with at least one of either Milenkovic or Murillo likely to be snapped up by a Champions League side, signing a replacement is nothing but a top priority.