Nottingham Forest are still keen on signing former on loan midfielder Jack Colback, but they face stern competition from a couple of Championship clubs, according to the Nottingham Post.
The Newcastle man is not against a permanent deal to the City Ground, but is thought to be ‘keeping his options open’.
The central midfielder impressed Aitor Karanka during his time at Forest and now the former Middlesbrough manager wants to make him a permanent member of the Reds squad.
Colback is thought to be on £40,000 a weeks at St James’ Park, so he would have to take a significant wage cut to join Forest this summer.
The 28 year old joined the club during the January transfer window last season, and went on to make 16 appearances for the club.
He scored one goal for Karanka’s side, netting on the final day of the season against Bolton Wanderers.
Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez has made it clear to Colback that he does not feature in his plans for the future.
He was left to train with the U23’s during the first half of last season and featured scarcely during the Premier League campaign.
Newcastle will be desperate to get Colback off the wage bill this summer and will be pushing their man to accept a deal from Forest.
Aitor Karanka will be pushing hard to complete a deal for his number one target as the transfer window draws on.
After already completing the signings of Joao Carvalho and Diogo Gonçalves, Forest will be looking to mount a promotion push next season.
