Championship outfit Nottingham Forest raided La Liga to sign Chema from Levante on transfer deadline day.
Chema Rodriguez could end up being one of Nottingham Forest’s most inspired signings of 2019. He is certainly one of the cheapest.
By the time the transfer window slammed shut at 5:00pm om Thursday last week, the East Midland giants had welcomed 12, yes twelve, new players to the club as Sabri Lamouchi looks to put his stamp on the perennial underachievers.
But Chema, a commanding centre-half who had impressed in La Liga with Levante, arrived somewhat under the radar.
Nottingham Forest were reluctant, for whatever reason, to reveal exactly what they had paid for the tough-tackling 27-year-old. Announcing the transfer on their website, the old ‘undisclosed fee’ line reared its ugly head, as it does so often in this day and age.
But BeIn Sports have rather given the game away. According to them, Forest paid less than £1 million to convince Levante to part with the former Atletico Madrid youngster. Not a bad deal, on reflection.
Chema attended his first training session as a Nottingham Forest player on Monday with Lamouchi telling the Post that he could prove to be a valuable addition over a 46-game slog.
In today’s madcap transfer market, when the likes of Adam Webster are moving for fees in excess of £20 million, Forest have reminded us all that there is value to be found if you are willing to think outside the box.
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