Nottingham Forest have had three bids rejected by Fortuna Sittard for Zian Flemming with the midfielder at risk of missing out on a move to the Championship giants, as reported by Voetbal Primeur.
One of the most exciting young talents in Dutch football could see this situation coming, too.
When quizzed about his future a fortnight ago, Flemming revealed Fortuna Sittard were demanding a “very big fee” for his services.
“It’s too much,” he said, fearing a princely price tag would put off clubs from a more high-profile league.
At the time, it was reported Nottingham Forest had made an opening offer of about £800,000.
Since then, the East Midlands giants have made two more bids, neither of which met Fortuna’s demands for the Amsterdam-born 22-year-old.
It isn’t certain how much the Limburg-based outfit want for a man who produced 15 goals and seven assists during a superb breakthrough campaign, catching the eye with his drive, vision and ability to produce something out of nothing.
Will Flemming miss out on Nottingham Forest chance?
Voetbal Primeur claims, however, it would take an offer of “several millions” to secure Flemming’s signature.
As a result, Nottingham Forest are now seriously considering pulling out of negotiations, obviously feeling better value can be found elsewhere.
The report adds Forest have grown increasingly frustrated by Fortuna’s stance and were even willing to offer a number of players as part of a player-plus-cash deal.
If we presume Flemming won’t be on his way to the City Ground, Forest chief executive Dane Murphy has just five weeks to find an attacking midfielder capable of adding some creativity and cutting edge to a side that scored a miserable 37 goals in 46 Championship games in 2020/21.
Fortunately, Watford are unlikely to stand in Philip Zinckernagel’s way should Nottingham Forest step up their interest in a man who racked up a staggering 24 assists as Bodo/Glimt won the Norwegian league last year.
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