Nottingham Forest sign Belgium’s Orel Mangala

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: Nottingham Forest on Sunday signed Belgium international midfielder Orel Mangala from German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart.

The 24-year-old penned a long-term contract at The City Ground after The Reds agreed an undisclosed fee with Stuttgart.

Born in Brussels, Mangala began his youth career in Belgium with Anderlecht and after a brief loan spell with Borussia Dortmund's youth side, he made the permanent switch to Stuttgart in 2017. The midfielder continued to gain experience in Germany and spent the 2018/19 campaign on loan at Hamburg in the second division, making 34 appearances in all competitions.

Making 72 Bundesliga appearances in total, Mangala also represented his nation at each youth level and played a key role as Belgium reached the Under 17 World Cup semi-final in 2015.

Orel currently has two senior Belgium caps to his name after making his debut in March 2022 against Republic of Ireland before featuring again for Roberto Martinez's side three days later during a 3-0 win against Burkina Faso.

The midfielder becomes The Reds' twelfth signing of the summer and we look forward to seeing Orel continue his development at The City Ground.