Omar Richards is a Red

Callum Castel-Nuovo

Nottingham Forest have signed Bayern Munich defender Omar Richards for a reported fee of €10 million.

The 24-year-old left-back has signed a four-year contract at the City Ground and becomes Forest Head Coach Steve Cooper’s fifth signing of this window.

The defender made 104 appearances for Reading after coming through the club’s academy and establishing himself as a first team regular with the Berkshire club, before moving to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

Since moving to the German champions, Richards has made 17 appearances in all competitions, whilst starting six matches.

Despite Richards' struggles to break into the first-team ahead of Lucas Hernandez and Alphonso Davies, it is obvious that the 24-year-old has a lot of talent and experience in England.

How will he fit in at Forest?

Richards will likely start as a wing-back on the left hand side of a three-man defence, which is the system Steve Cooper operated mostly last season.

Richards hasn't had much luck at Munich, but he's spent the past year working with players of the calibre of Robert Lewandowski, Alphonso Davies, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, and others.

Of the 17 appearances in Germany, Richards’ best game was arguably against 1899 Hoffenheim. Richards finished the Bundesliga match with one clearance, three tackles, and 11 ground duels won.

Richards was difficult to stop, and as a result, he was fouled five times while making three successful dribbles. The defender finished the game with three accurate long balls and a 79% pass completion rate.

These numbers mirror those he produced while playing for Reading in the Championship, proving that the defender's lack of playing time hasn't slowed him down.

The former Bayern Munich defender is renowned for his pace, one-on-one defending, and his astute judgement. A versatile wingback who enjoys playing aggressively will be acquired by Forest.

Richards will be a natural wingback to replace Jack Colback, who is typically a midfielder. The Reds thought to have a comparable left wingback in Max Lowe last season before injuries affected his loan spell.

Omar Richards is a name that is welcomed to that list of shrewd acquisitions Forest have made since being promoted to the Premier League, joining the likes of Taiwo Awoniyi, Dean Henderson, Giuliane Biancone, and Moussa Niakhaté.

Photography: MUNICH, GERMANY - MAY 08: Omar Richards of FC Bayern Muenchen lifts The Bundesliga Meisterschale trophy following their sides finish as the Bundesliga champions during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern München and VfB Stuttgart at Allianz Arena on May 08, 2022 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)