Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton has made the club's fourth signing of the summer as defender Tendayi Darikwa joined the club from Premier League side Burnley for a fee of around £2 million. 

The Reds will now be looking to secure further additions in this transfer window to ensure they compete better in The Championship than last season as they just managed to avoid relegation to League One on the final day. 

Good competition for Lichaj

Darikwa has the potential to be another smart addition from Warburton as he looks to add quality to his Forest squad. He is a player who has gone under the radar at Burnley in recent years since their promotion to the Premier League but was rated highly by fans and has the ability to be a very competent full-back at Championship level. 

The 25-year-old began his career at Chesterfield after he broke through the youth academy in 2010. He went on to make 125 appearances for the club and scored nine goals in the process. This led to his £750,000 move to Burnley in 2015 and he featured heavily for the Clarets in their promotion campaign as he made 21 league appearances. 

Darikwa did not make a single appearance for Burnley in the Premier League last season. (picture: Getty Images / Anthony Devlin)
Darikwa did not make a single appearance for Burnley in the Premier League last season. (picture: Getty Images / Anthony Devlin)

However, he did not make a single appearance last season in the Premier League as he struggled to force his way into Sean Dyche's starting line-up. Matt Lowton performed consistently well in the right-back position and did not give Darikwa a chance to shine. Dyche has also added Stoke City's Phil Bardsley to his squad recently which has now led to Darikwa's departure. 

Despite joining Forest for around £2 million on a four-year deal, he will have his work cut out to force himself into Warburton's starting line-up next season also. Eric Lichaj performed well at right-back following Warburton's arrival last season and has heavily featured internationally for the USA in their CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign so far. However, it is good for the Reds to have this sort of competition for places, especially due to how poor Forest were defensively last season.

Darikwa 'delighted' to join Forest

Darikwa grew up in Nottingham and was actually on Forest's books as a youngster but never made it into the first team. He is now delighted to be back in his hometown after watching the club as a youngster. Fans always respond well to local talent and Darikwa has already received a warm welcome from Reds supporters. 

He told Forest's offical site of his delight to finally get the deal over the line. He said: “I am delighted to be here and I’m glad it has all been sorted. It is a bit more special being a local boy, growing up and watching the club, and I am excited to meet my new teammates and getting started."

"It means a bit more to me to come back here. It is a special feeling and the club is in a good place at the moment and I can’t wait to get going,” Darikwa continued.

The defender also made clear of his motivation to get the club back into the Premier League sooner rather than later: "The last few years have been disappointing for the club and I have always kept a close eye on things being from the city but now, under the new owners and with the manager and his team, hopefully we can have a good season together.”

The defender joins the likes of Jason Cummings, Barrie McKay and Daryl Murphy who have all already arrived at The City Ground from Hibernian, Rangers and Newcastle United respectively. All have been acquired for relatively small fees but could prove to be very astute additions to Forest's squad. 

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About the author
Sam Straw
VAVEL Championship Editor. Journalism Student at The University of Sheffield. Nottingham Forest Season-Ticket Holder. Contributing to VAVEL UK since October 2016.