Nuno Espirito Santo’s first Nottingham Forest transfer set to be star who was tipped as ‘the next Cristiano Ronaldo’

NUNO ESPIRITO SANTO is closing in on his first ever signing as Nottingham Forest manager.

Nuno replaced Steve Cooper in the Forest dugout last week and picked up his first victory in only his second match in charge following a stunning 3-1 victory at Newcastle on Boxing Day.

Nottingham Forest are in ‘advanced negotiations’ with Monaco star Gelson MartinsGetty Images – Getty

Nuno Espirito Santo is close to his first signing as Nottingham Forest managerRex

And the Portuguese tactician is already building for the second half of the season ahead of the January transfer window with some major targets considered.

And according to Maisfutebol, Nottingham are in “advanced negotiations” with Monaco star Gelson Martins.

Opportunity has been scarce for Gelson in France this season and he has attracted bids from Russia as well as the US.

However, the winger has been adamant about his preference to move to the Premier League.

The 28-year-old’s contract also runs out in June, which is why the Ligue 1 giants will be keen to sell next month in order to avoid losing him for free in the summer.

The former Portugal international has received plenty of plaudits throughout his career ever since bursting onto the scene with Sporting Lisbon in 2015.

So much so that he previously attracted interest from some of Europe’s biggest bidders.

The forward was scouted by Arsenal, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool.

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Even Benfica bigwigs were so impressed with his performances at rivals Sporting throughout his three-year stint that he was dubbed the “future Cristiano Ronaldo.”

That led the Portuguese ace to a move to Atletico Madrid in 2018 before he was loaned out to Monaco a year later.

The French outfit then signed him on a permanent transfer soon after.

Gelson has scored 16 goals and bagged 14 assists in 129 appearances so far with Monaco.