Eredivisie ace Zian Flemming has admitted that Nottingham Forest wanted to sign him in the summer with Championship rivals Millwall now making their move, speaking to ESPN.
Unfortunately for the Fortuna Sittard star, the City Ground ship appears to have sailed.
Steve Cooper’s upwardly mobile Forest side are prioritising a winger rather than an attacking midfielder these days. Josh Bowler of Blackpool and Millwall’s Jed Wallace appear to be their top targets ahead of what could be a dramatic final fortnight in the January transfer window.
But does not mean Flemming will not be plying his trade in England’s second tier come February.
Millwall are keen. And Gary Rowett’s Lions will need a bit of additional creativity presuming Wallace, the club’s long-serving talisman, is on his way out the door.
Will Zian Flemming finally move to England?
“The Championship is a nice step for me,” says Flemming, translated by Voetbal Primeur.
“It was also with Nottingham Forest last summer. I honestly indicated that I wanted to go there.
“Millwall is also a great option. But you know how it went last summer. My opinion doesn’t really matter.”
It doesn’t take much reading between the lines to know what Flemming is getting at. He wants to join Millwall. He wanted to join Nottingham Forest.
Unfortunately for the 23-year-old former Ajax youngster, the decision is not his and his alone.
Fortuna Sittard rejected three bids from Forest in the summer of 2021.
According to Flemming himself, the Eredivisie outfit were demanding a ‘very big transfer fee’. With two-and-a-half years left on his contract, that is unlikely to have changed in the last few months.
And, just to make life even more difficult for Millwall, Fortuna Sittard are starting down the barrel of relegation as things stand.
The last thing they need right now is to sell their most gifted attacker, even if Flemming is not currently producing the same sparkling displays as last term.
He’s scored just twice in 2021/22. That is a far cry from the previous campaign’s tally of 15.
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