Nottingham Forest have bid rejected for 26-year-old, must pay £13m

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Nottingham Forest have had an opening bid for Moussa Niakhate rejected with Bundesliga outfit Mainz holding out for £13 million for the Premier League-linked centre-back, as reported by BILD. 

After selling Jerry St Juste to Sporting Lisbon, German football’s surprise packages are understandably keen to avoid cashing in on the Dutchman’s former centre-back partner.

But Mainz are under no illusions. With just 12 months left on his contract, Niakhate is almost certain to follow St Juste out the door before the summer is out. 

“We’re expecting Moussa to leave,” sporting director Christian Heidel said last week. “It’s quiet on our side, but I don’t assume that it’s as quiet with Moussa’s agent.”  

Everton and West Ham were linked a couple of weeks ago, as reported by The Telegraph. 

Both clubs appear to have turned their attention elsewhere, however, with The Toffees landing James Tarkowski and the Hammers closing in on a £20 million deal for Rennes giant Nayef Aguerd. 

So newly-promoted Nottingham Forest are not just in pole position, they appear to be the only realistic destination – at this stage anyway – for a player who has turned down a move to Wolfsburg due to his desire to play Premier League football. 

Will Nottingham Forest land Mainz skipper Moussa Niakhate?

According to BILD, however, Forest will need to put more than around £9 million on the table if they are serious about bringing Mainz’ 6ft 3ins skipper – the youngest captain in the Bundesliga last season – to the City Ground.

The report claims that the Rhineland-based outfit are holding out for £13 million, rejecting Nottingham Forest’s opening offer out of hand. 

Interestingly, the two-time European champions are also in talks to sign Niakhate’s former MEWA Arena team-mate Taiwo Awoniyi. The former Liverpool youngster was one of the Bundesliga’s most feared forwards last term, firing Union Berlin into Europe. 

In fact, only five players in the league scored more than his 15 goals. Among them were Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland, Patrick Schick and Christopher Nkunku. There’s certainly worse company to keep.