Nottingham Forest have been drawing up a shortlist of targets ready for the opening of the transfer window on Monday, the 15th of June. The club are looking at Jean-Philippe Mateta, with Vitor Pereira keen to bring another centre-forward to the club. Central midfield is also a key position that will need strengthening once Elliot Anderson departs for Manchester City. Nottingham Forest target Arthur Theate almost quit football, and his story is a fascinating one. Theate was once close to quitting football during the pandemic in 2020. Speaking to Ligue 1, via talkSPORT, the Forest transfer target said: 'When I was 20, I was kicked out and found myself without a club, unemployed. That was at the end of the 2019/20 season, just after the start of the COVID crisis. I started looking for a 'real' job because I had to earn money to live. I was going to work in construction because I don't have a degree – I sacrificed my studies. I was preparing for a life other than football, but I never gave up. During COVID, I used the little money I had saved to pay for a physical trainer and to be ready if an opportunity arose. In fact, before Oostende, I tried out for a Belgian D2 club and was turned down. I was told I wasn't up to scratch.' Since then, Theate has plied his trade for the likes of Bologna, Stade Rennais, and now Frankfurt, so clearly he's really kicked on. To get through those difficult periods at the start of his career shows he has a strong mentality, which should be attractive to Forest's recruitment chiefs.