Nottingham Forest seal signing of five-cap Italy international in potential £30million deal

Nottingham Forest have confirmed the signing of Lorenzo Lucca from Napoli.

The towering Italian has completed a loan switch to the Midlands side, who have the option to make the transfer permanent for £30million at the end of the season.

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Lucca only moved to Napoli from Udinese over the summer, but has struggled for regular minutes under Antonio Conte.

The 6ft7in hitman has made just four league starts for Conte’s side having played second fiddle to Rasmus Hojlund at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Forest boss Sean Dyche had been in the market for a new striker this month.

Chris Wood is currently absent through injury and Taiwo Awoniyi is out of favour at the City Ground.

Wolves forward Jorgen Strand Larsen had emerged as a potential target for Forest, but the Tricky Trees opted to prioritise a move for Lucca.

Lucca will wear the No.20 shirt for Forest – which had been vacant following Jota Silva’s exit to Benfica last summer.

Luc is in

Forest’s Global Head of Football Edu Gaspar hailed the club’s signing of Lucca, who boasts five caps for Italy’s national team.

He told the club’s website: “Lorenzo is a player who adds specific qualities to our team, and we are really pleased he has joined us.

“Having played at the top level in different countries, he arrives with a good blend of experience and scope to continue developing as a player.

“Everyone at the club welcomes Lorenzo, and we are all looking forward to seeing the impact he can have for the rest of the season.”

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In total, Lucca banged in just two goals for Napoli from his 23 appearances across all competitions.

And he found the back of the net just once in Serie A from 16 outings.

The previous campaign saw him find the back of the net on 14 occasions for Udinese – five more than he managed in the 2023/24 term.

He will now be hoping to rediscover his form at the City Ground to help steer the club to safety.

Forest currently sit in 17th spot – five points clear of the relegation zone heading into Sunday’s trip to Brentford.

And they remain in Europe, with the club set to be involved in a two-legged Europa League knockout play-off next month.