Football - Nottingham Forest sign Michael Mancienne |18 July 2014

Nottingham Forest have signed former Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne from German Bundesliga side Hamburg on a three-year contract.

The 26-year-old played under Stuart Pearce when the Forest manager was in charge of the England Under-21 side and earned a call-up to the senior squad for the friendly against Germany in November 2008, although he did not play in Berlin.

He is said to have joined Forest for a fee of around £1m and put pen to paper on a three-year deal to become Pearce's fifth new arrival this summer following fellow defenders Louis Laing and Roger Riera and strikers Matt Fryatt and Lars Veldwijk to the City Ground.

Mancienne told BBC Radio Nottingham: "I know I have signed for a massive club. There are Premier League facilities here and I am very happy."

Mancienne came through the youth ranks at Chelsea but played only a handful of games for the Blues. He got his first taste of regular first-team football at QPR but it was during another loan spell with Wolves where the defender came to prominence, making 46 Premier League appearances in two stints at Molineux.

In the summer of 2011 he left Chelsea for German club Hamburg and over the past three years has built a solid reputation for himself in the Bundesliga.

The signing of Mancienne, who is comfortable at both centre-half and at full-back and has played in a holding midfield role in the past, helps to ease Forest's injury crisis in defence with Jack Hobbs (ankle), Kelvin Wilson (calf), Eric Lichaj (groin) and Chris Cohen (knee) all set to miss the opening game of the Sky Bet Championship campaign at home to Blackpool on August 9.

Michael won the FA Cup with Chelsea in 2009 and was named as the clubs’ young player of the year in 2008-09. He has previously also represented England at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels.

Moving from Germany to the City Ground, Mancienne's priority is to help Pearce's side win promotion and the fiercely ambitious defender or midfielder has also not yet given up hope of winning his first full cap, to add to the 30 under-21 caps he earned with England – many of which were earned under Pearce.

"It (playing for England) is something I have still got ambitions about, yes, definitely," Mancienne told the Nottingham Post after agreeing the three-year contract, with the option of a further year, at Forest.

"I know Forest have a lot of ambition, but so do I. I am here to try to help the team to get promoted, to get Forest playing Premier League football and to be seen. To be considered for international football, eventually, is exactly what I want," added Mancienne.

And Mancienne is in no doubt that Forest have the quality to achieve their promotion ambitions under Pearce.
"I know Forest have the squad to do it, I know they have the right manager to do it as well," he said.
"That is why I have come here. The gaffer was my manager at under-21 level, so I do know him. I have spoken to him about his ambitions for the team. I have also spoken to the chairman about his ambitions for the team – and we all have the same ambitions.

"I want to do well for the club. I want success for the club. That is why I am here. I want to play in the Premier League, which is why I am here. This team can challenge in the Championship. It is a great squad and everyone at Forest wants the same thing."

Mancienne will not join up with the rest of the squad in Portugal, but will return to Germany to collect his belongings before linking up with the rest of the squad next week.

But that will not hinder his pre-season preparations – which got underway with Hamburg almost a month ago.
"I am ready for the season to start right now, to be honest. We could go tomorrow," he said.

"I have been back in pre-season since June 18. I have already been to China with Hamburg and played around eight friendly games already. I feel fit. I am pretty much ready to go right now."