5 of the biggest transfers made by Premier League’s promoted clubs - as Nottingham Forest linked with Houssem Aouar

Nottingham Forest returned to the Premier League this season for the first time in 23 years and have well and truly delved into the transfer market this summer.

Steve Cooper’s side are nearing £100 million worth of transfers following their promotion, with Taiwo Awoniyi and Neco Williams currently topping their spending since they won promotion.

With Emmanuel Dennis becoming their 14th signing, Forest are continuing to add huge talents to their squad and they look set to make the biggest yet in the coming weeks.

According to Sky Italy, the Midlands club are closing in on Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar in what would be a huge deal for a newly promoted club.

The 24-year-old was previously linked with a number of Premier League sides including Arsenal, but he could instead join a team that haven’t seen top flight football in many years.

Following Aouar’s links to Forest, we have taken a look at six of the biggest signings made by promoted clubs in recent years.

Esteban Cambiasso - Leicester

Leicester City prepared for Premier League football for the first time in 10 years and welcomed 13 new faces to the King Power Stadium.

However, the name on everyone’s lips was Esteban Cambiasso, who joined the club on a free transfer after his contract with Inter Milan expired.

The midfielder had spent the previous 10 years with the Italian giants and another two years with Real Madrid previous to that, winning six league titles, the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and nine domestic cup trophies.

While Cambiasso was nearing his mid-30s when moving to Leicester, the switch still came as a huge surprise and a massive name to be joining the newly promoted side.

The Argentine spent only a year in Leicester, winning their Player of the Year award in the 2014/15 before turning down a new contract and joining Olympiakos.

Joao Moutinho - Wolves

Wolves had become accustomed to some big names in their squad even in their final year in the Championship, snapping up both Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota in their promotion-winning campaign.

However, that didn’t make the arrival of Joao Moutinho the following summer any less impressive.

After five years with Monaco, a 32-year-old Moutinho joined Wolves for around £5m upon their return to the Premier League.

The midfielder had four league titles to his name, as well as the Europe League with Porto and also the 2016 Euros with Portugal - however he was now tasked with helping Wolves stay in the top division.

Moutinho has since been a regular in the team and won their Player of the Season award in his first season.

Jean Michael Seri - Fulham

Jean Michael Seri is one of a number of big names Fulham brought in when they were promoted in 2018.

After three years with Nice, Seri made the switch to London and was a regular in the starting XI but was unable to prevent an immediate return to the second tier.

The Frenchman spent much of the next two seasons on loan with Galatasaray and Bordeaux, before helping them with promotion once again last season.

However, Seri since departed the club and has now completed another shock move to Hull City.

Rodrigo - Leeds United

Rodrigo was Leeds United’s most expensive signing following their promotion two years ago.

The forward was well-known in Europe prior to his move, helping Benfica to the Primeira Liga title, three domestic cup trophies and also two Europa League finals.

Rodrigo then spent six years in Valencia and regularly competed in the Champions League, whilst also making 27 appearances for Spain.

The Real Madrid academy product joined Leeds United for around £27m - though has failed to quite recapture his previous form.

However, the 31-year-old has started this season brilliantly, scoring three goals in their opening two matches.

Jesse Lingard - Nottingham Forest

Another one of Nottingham Forest’s shock arrivals is Jesse Lingard.

The midfielder was previously a key part of Manchester United’s team as they won the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League - however he gradually fell down the pecking order and looked for first team opportunities with a loan switch to West Ham.

Lingard was absolutely on fire during his time in the capital, scoring nine goals and providing four assists in 16 league appearances.

Following his departure from the Red Devils this summer, Lingard was heavily linked with a number of clubs including a permanent return to the London Stadium, meanwhile Newcastle United were prepared to offer him a bumper package to move up north.

However, the 29-year-old instead opted to join newly promoted Forest - shocking Premier League fans and leaving Hammers fans very disappointed.