According to the Nottingham Post, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Wolves have all been linked with signing Werder Bremen goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald.
The 27-year-old has been competing with Raphael Wolf for the number one jersey at the German side. Wiedwald featured 29 times for the Bundesliga side who finished eighth place in the Bundesliga last season. Wiedwald is now contracted at the German side until 2018 after a contract extension was triggered at the end of last campaign; although it is widely expected he could be moving away from the Bundesliga this summer.
Last season, Nottingham Forest turned to young goalkeeper Jordan Smith when the experienced Stephen Henderson was injured during February. At only 22 years of age, Smith managed to produce some fantastic performances for Forest and helped to keep the club in the Championship. Forest may be looking for a goalkeeper with more experience for the upcoming campaign and with Wiedwald looking to be readily available, he could move to the City Ground. This being said, Smith will be hoping he has a large part to play in Forests’ upcoming season. If Wiedwald was to move to the City Ground, this could affect the development of Smith, so the likelihood of this transfer happening appears to be uncertain.
Leeds United may be in the market for a new goalkeeper to replace Rob Green in the Whites’ starting XI. Green is now 37 and with Wolf being ten years younger, he will be coming into his prime years as a goalkeeper. Although the German would cost a reasonable transfer fee, for the purpose of longevity, it may be well within Leeds’ interests to sign the German.
Although Wolves’ goalkeeper Carl Ikeme looks to be comfortable between the sticks at Molineux, Wiedwald could be an attractive prospect for the Championship side. Ikeme made 31 appearances last season for Wolves but with the introduction of Nuno Espírito Santo as Wolves’ head coach, he may want to bring his own players to the Black Country.
The destination of Wiedwald appears to be very uncertain, as the Nottingham Post suggests, Norwich City, Fulham, QPR and FC Nantes are all said to be vying for his signature. We will wind out in the upcoming weeks as to whether the goalkeeper is Championship bound – or not.
