Nottingham Forest have signed the defender Omar Richards from Bayern Munich on a four-year contract. Richards, who made 17 appearances in all competitions for the German champions last season after making the move from Reading last summer, has joined the promoted Premier League side for a fee of £8.5m. The 24-year-old told Forest’s website: “I’m thrilled to return to England by joining Nottingham Forest at such an exciting time. The club has enjoyed an incredible last few months and there’s great ambitions for the Premier League return. “I’ve played against Forest in the past and they get such great backing from their fans, whilst the City Ground is an amazing place that I can now call home.” London-born Richards, a former England Under-21s international, helped Bayern seal the Bundesliga title in his only season in Bavaria. He started out at Fulham but moved on to Reading and made his senior debut for the Royals in August 2017. “I’ve seen a lot of Omar through his time with Reading and, alongside our recruitment team, we have been following his progress in Germany,” said Nottingham Forest’s manager, Steve Cooper. “He previously established himself as one of the best full-backs in the Championship, but has since gone on to experience the Champions League and the Bundesliga with one of the biggest clubs in the world. Richards made 104 appearances in all competitions for Reading before sealing a move to Bayern as a free agent at the end of the 2020-21 season.