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Nottingham Forest could extend striker Glenn Murray's contract into next season, if he can add to his goals tally before the end of the current campaign, a report from The Athletic has claimed.
Murray joined Forest on a permanent transfer from Brighton at the end of this year's winter transfer window, having spent the first half of the current campaign on loan at Watford, where he struggled to make an impact.
The striker only signed a contract until the end of the season, but it now seems as though he could remain at The City Ground beyond this summer, on one condition.
According to this latest report, Forest are open to offering Murray a contract for the 2021/22 season, but only if the 37-year-old adds to his goals return before the end of this season.
Since joining Forest, Murray has made 13 appearances for the club, scoring twice, with both of those goals coming in a 3-0 win over Wycombe back in early February.
Speaking about Murray's situation at The City Ground, Forest manager Chris Hughton has been quoted by The Athletic as saying: "We are working on improving all areas, I must admit. Glenn's contract will be up and we have two players who are still under contract in Lyle (Taylor) and Lewis (Grabban).
"There are a lot of thought processes we will go through between now and the end of the season, and some of it will be governed by how we finish; how many points we get and how happy we are with our tail end."
The Verdict
I do think this is a sensible stance for Forest to take with regards to Murray.
With Murray's current contract set to expire at the end of this season, Forest only have two senior strikers contracted to the club for next season.
That is something that could be a risk given the need for goals there will be at The City Ground, so it could make sense for them to extend Murray's contract to address that issue.
However, you feel Murray will need to prove that his is a deal worth extending for Forest, and showing he can make an impact in front of goal will be key to that, since that is an area where they have struggled at times this season.
Source