Nottingham Forest not only missed out on a new centre-forward this summer.
After failing with bids for Eddie Nketiah and Yoane Wissa – after both Omar Marmoush and Santiago Gimenez rebuffed their advances – the Premier League outfit ended the transfer window just as reliant upon the poaching talents of Chris Wood as they started it.
But it wasn’t just in the number nine role where Nottingham Forest would suffer frustration in pursuit of their primary targets.
Speaking last week, the agent of Italy international Edoardo Bove confirmed that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had been the ‘hottest’ in pursuit of the then-Roma midfielder.
Bove, however, would instead opt for a £10 million move to Fiorentina.
And now, a player hailed by former Roma boss Jose Mourinho not only for his talent but also his mentality explains why he opted to stay in Serie A rather than embark upon a fresh challenge in the Premier League.
Edoardo Bove explains Nottingham Forest snub
“The reason I chose Fiorentina, apart from the project, is because the club has so much passion,” Bove tells Tuttomercatoweb. “The people push you and it has the best sports centre in Italy. It’s the perfect place to play lots of games and grow.
“As for Roma, (leaving was) my choice. They told me I wouldn’t have the space I need to become the player I want to be. I was out of the project.
“I want to be at the centre and protagonist.”
Bove should certainly be that at Fiorentina, expected to form a new-look partnership with Amir Richardson in the centre of the park.
HITC reported that, in addition to Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Fulham, Everton and AFC Bournemouth had also shown an interest in Bove.
Former Reims giant Richardson – all 6ft 6ins of him – was on Everton’s radar too. He held talks with Sean Dyche about a switch to Goodison Park but, like Bove, found the allure of Fiorentina impossible to ignore.
Everton wanted Fiorentina duo Bove and Amir Richardson
“In recent years, they have been implementing a growth path that is unique in Italy,” Bove adds. “I have learned that cups and trophies do not come immediately. It takes time and Fiorentina is certainly on the right path.”
While Fiorentina’s trophy drought now stands at 23 years, La Viola did reach three finals in the space of 12 months this year. They were beaten by Juventus in the Coppa Italia and also followed up 2023’s Europa Conference League defeat by West Ham with a late loss against Olympiakos.
“The finals are there. Losing them hurts and I know what it means having lost the Europa League, but you have reached the end and it is the testimony of what the club has done,” Bove insists.
“The squad we have can compete and, in my opinion, we will get great satisfaction.”
Everton responded to missing out on both Bove and Richardson by securing a deadline day swoop for Lyon’s Orel Mangala, although they did miss out on his former team-mate Ernest Nuamah.
A silky, press resistant number six, Mangala previously played in England for Nottingham Forest.
And, on the subject of Forest, James Ward-Prowse was the man brought in a fortnight ago to take a spot that had presumably been earmarked for Bove.
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