Nottingham Forest transfer ‘rejected’ as telling player reaction revealed
Latest Nottingham Forest transfer news as Luton Town reportedly turn down the chance to sign Reds goalkeeper Ethan Horvath on a permanent basis following their promotion to the Premier League
Luton Town have turned down the chance to sign Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Ethan Horvath, it has been claimed.
Horvath spent last season on loan at Luton from Forest, making 44 league appearances as the Hatters earned promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs. He was highly-regarded in Bedforshire during his loan spell, but his time there will not continue.
Included in Horvath’s loan agreement was an option for Luton to buy the 28-year-old stopper, but they have chosen not to take up that clause. That’s according to The Athletic, who claim the Luton players are “surprised” that the club have chosen not to sign him.
The United States international joined Forest from Club Brugge two years, and was second choice behind Brice Samba in his first season, before playing for Luton in his second.
Forest are on the hunt for goalkeepers this summer, with the loans of Dean Henderson and Keylor Navas coming to an end. Forest are looking to sign Henderson permanently, but there could be room for a second stopper to come through the door – though Wayne Hennessey is also on the Reds’ books.
It has also been reported that Horvath is attracting interest from unnamed clubs across Europe, making a permanent exit from Forest this summer increasingly likely. He has previously played on the continent for Molde and Club Brugge, so will be well known to clubs in Norway at Belgium – and scouts in other countries will be well aware of the stopper, who has played in the Champions League and Europa League.
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Town defender Burke has full belief Luton can make a ‘statement’ and stay in the Premier League
Town defender Reece Burke fully believes the Hatters can make a ‘statement’ in the Premier League and prove all the doubters wrong by avoiding relegation back to the Championship.
Luton are gearing up for a first campaign in the top flight of English football since the 1991-92 season, with not many outside of Bedfordshire anticipating they will avoid the drop.
The fact they are being written off at this stage is of no surprise to a confident Burke though, who felt that had been the case when they were trying to reach this level last term anyway.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to the challenge of the Prem.
“We’ve got a great bunch of lads, great staff and everyone around Luton.
“I know there’ll be a lot of doubters out there, but I really believe we can put a statement in this league and I do believe we can stay in the league.
“That’s the aim, and I think with a great team and a great bunch of lads, there’s no reason why I’d doubt us.
“I think you can go back to last season, a lot of people do doubt Luton, but we always come out on top, so that’s the main thing.”
Burke is one of the few players in Town’s current squad that have Premier League experience under their belts, having played six times for West Ham when he was just 18 in the 2014-15 season.
Although struggling with injuries at times during his spell with the Hatters, restricted to just 15 league starts last term, he now can’t wait to get fit and stay fit to experience the challenge of taking on some of the top players once more.
The centre half continued: “I’ve been working since the season finished and it’s (time at Luton) been difficult, it’s been up and down.
“The most frustrating thing for me is when I’m fit and I’m playing, I feel like I do well, so it’s just about keeping fit and keeping that going.
“There’s things that I’m working on and this break has been really good for me.
“I’ll be back pre-season, fit and raring to go.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge in the Prem, really looking forward to coming up against top quality players, some of the best players in the world.”
Burke is a big reason why Luton are in their top flight this term, after his wonderful display at Wembley in the play-off final against Coventry City when coming on to replace Tom Lockyer after Town’s skipper worryingly collapsed on the pitch inside the opening 10 minutes.
Despite precious little first team football in the build-up due to another nagging injury, the centre half excelled in his extended run-out that saw the Hatters triumph after extra-time via a penalty shootout.
On his efforts, Burke added: “I had to be mentally prepared, I felt great, even though I knew I wasn’t starting the game.
“In the warm up, the atmosphere, I was just really buzzing.
“Obviously it was a shame what happened to Locks and I say it all the time, he’s been great all season, he’s been a big part in what we achieved.
“The main thing for me was trying to fill that spot, I wanted to come on and show people how good I am, and that was the main thing in my head.
“So I was proud of the way the game went, how I played, and we managed to get promoted, which was brilliant.
“It was difficult, it was tough, coming on so early but I just did the basics well, built into the game and I was really pleased.
“I had only played 45 minutes previous to that with the injuries, so to be able to get on a big game like that and do well, I was really proud of myself.”
