If a deal can be done this week for Davies, he would become signing number seven of the summer but he is unlikely to go straight into the team given his lack of match fitness having been without a club all summer.

And, according to reports, Sheffield United see Davies as a better alternative to Lewis O’Brien. The midfielder has long been on their radar but Forest do not want to loan him to a rival and want around £10m for a permament move.

Although the transfer blueprint this summer has been to sign young players with potential, Heckingbottom wants to move away from that in the closing weeks of the window and bring in more experience.

Davies certainly fits that bill. He came through the Everton academy having joined the club at the age of 11 and went on to make 155 Premier League appearances for the Toffees.