Premier League newcomers Nottingham Forest are yet to contact Willem II about a deal for striker Jizz Hornkamp, the Eredivisie outfit’s technical director Teun Jacobs tells Brabants Dagblad.
Now, this is a bit of a weird one.
The Athletic were the first to report, on Wednesday night, that Nottingham Forest were hoping to make Jizz Hornkamp (ahem, quiet at the back) their latest in a long, long line of summer signings at the City Ground.
And you’d be forgiven for assuming that Willem II’s number nine is one of the hottest strikers in Holland. But not quite. In fact, Hornkamp scored just nine goals in 31 games across 2021/22, despite spending half of that season in the second-tier with FC Den Bosch.
Nonetheless, Forest obviously feel that they can get a tune out of the 24-year-old targetman. Not that Willem II are likely to play ball, having only signed Hornkamp from the Eerste Divisie seven months ago.
Nottingham Forest want Jizz Hornkamp
“I have not had one second of contact with anyone about Jizz. Not with himself, not with his agent and not with any club. So that is not true,” Jacobs said when asked about those rumours.
“I really don’t know where this is coming from. Either this is a ghost story, or Nottingham Forest has yet to report to me.
“If they call me? I’ll pick up and tell them Jizz isn’t for sale. Unless – and of course that applies to every player – there is an enormous amount on the table. But it is clear: In principle we don’t want to let anyone go.”
Of course, this does not mean reports of Forest’s interest are wide of the mark. Perhaps the play-off winners – who have already spend over £70 million on 12 new additions – are simply weighing up an approach before deciding whether or not to pick up the phone.
In Hornkamp’s defence, he did score 20 goals for Den Bosch in the 2020/21 season. And he’s likely to play back-up behind record signing Taiwo Awoniyi at the City Ground anyway.
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