Nottingham Forest have concluded the signing of Michael Dawson from Hull City to strengthen their defence. Dawson makes his move to the City Ground on a free transfer as his contractual relationship with Hull City is set to expire next month and a new deal between the Tigers and the centre-back failed to materialise. His contract with Nottingham Forest will thus take effect from 1st July.
Dawson has signed on a two-year deal with the Tricky Trees and it will be intriguing to see how he settles at Nottingham Forest. The central defender started his youth career in the ranks of Forest and after racking up nearly a century of appearances for the club, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window of 2015.
After almost a decade with Spurs, the English international signed for Hull City in the summer transfer window of 2014 and proved himself as a resilient and commendable defender. In 40 appearances in the Championship last season, he scored 3 goals and registered 1 assist. Apart from that, he mustered 1.2 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, 7.4 clearances and 0.9 blocks per game on an average.
The 34-year-old is a clever reader of the game and times his tackles well more often than not. He might not have a great deal of pace anymore but he is pretty good at marking and commanding when it comes to aerial duels. He is a useful asset for his employers during the set-pieces and has traits of a genuine leader on offer.
Owing to the volumes of experience Dawson has under his belt, signing him appears to be a good signing at the onset for Nottingham Forest. Nottingham Forest finished at the 17th place in the league standings during the recently concluded season in the Championship, picking up 53 points.
Aitor Karanka is expected to change the complexion of the club and as many as ten new arrivals are expected to improve the squad. Karanka has his sight on promotion to the Premier League next season and no wonder he has already started to make the necessary moves. Although there is a lot more to be done, the platform has been set and Karanka needs to work further from here onwards.
Statistics Credits: Whoscored