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Richie Laryea signs for Nottingham Forest

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MLS star Richie Laryea signs for Nottingham Forest from Toronto FC last week in the January transfer window. The Toronto FC star has been previously compared to Bayern Munich’s left-back Alphonso Davies.

Toronto FC offered him a large sum of money which would have made him the highest-paid full-back in MLS. However, Laryea looked for a new challenge and signed for the EFL Championship side.

Richie Laryea is a versatile midfielder who can also play as a left-back or right-back. The Canadian international started his youth career in club Uruguay and earned his senior caps for Sigma FC. He signed for MLS side Toronto FC in 2019. He played 67 games for the MLS side scoring 8 goals.

The 27-year-old is the second signing for Nottingham Forest after Steve Cook. These transfers would enable The Reds to reshape and consolidate their defence.

Laryea is a speedy full-back and loves taking players on. If he can prove himself defensively, the club could be well set at right-back for the next few years. He has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Nottingham Forrest.

Ex-Toronto boss’ comments on the player

Greg Vanney was very impressed by the player’s dribbling ability in the flanks. Speaking to the Waking the Reds, he said:

 “He’s an incredible attacking right-back. That’s the reason you see a similar player to Alphonso Davies, who’s kind of the wide player or winger. When you have a full-back that can beat people on the dribble, that’s like gold.”

Greg Vanney was the manager of Toronto FC from 2014 to 2020. He managed the 27-year-old midfielder and has seen his versatile ability.

Given the comparison made with Bayern star Alphonso Davies, it seems as though Vanney believes Nottingham has bagged a good player in the form of Laryea.

Importance of the signing

Laryea will face a big challenge to adapt to English football quickly. Meanwhile, Forest is short at the left-back position and he could be called into action in the upcoming games.

Djed Spence and Max Lowe have been Nottingham’s first-choice full-backs for this season. However, both the players are on loan. As a result, Forest’s boss Steve Cooper has moved quickly to make a permanent addition in the form of Laryea.

Although he’s an unknown quantity plenty of supporters seem happy with this deal. Toronto fanbase is looking forward to seeing their recent signing shine.

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