Nottingham Forest risk losing £32m star to PSG but Cooper can land 19-goal ace

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Nottingham Forest face missing out to Paris Saint-Germain for Ibrahim Sangare but could bring a prolific centre-forward to the Premier League for just £2.5 million during the final month of the window. 

On Wednesday, The Athletic provided an update on Nottingham Forest’s summer plans. And the news was that, well, there wasn’t much ‘news’ at all. 

A deal for Monaco left-back Ismail Jakobs appears to no be longer on the table. Discussions are ongoing with Dean Henderson, but no agreement has been reached just yet. What’s more, Ibrahim Sangare – the man sitting right at the top of Forest’s wishlist as the window enters it’s final month – may be moving dangerously close to ‘pipe dream’ territory. 

Steve Cooper’s side have completed some rather eye-catching additions since returning to the Premier League in 2022, but fighting off Paris Saint-Germain for the PSV enforcer may be an ask too big. 

Nottingham Forest now face Paris Saint-Germain battle

Forest, The Athletic add, are willing to trigger the £32 million release clause in Sangare’s contract. The chance to play Champions League football alongside the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and co in the French capital may be too good for Sangare to turn down, however, especially if long-serving playmaker Marco Verratti becomes the latest big-name to sign up for the Saudi Arabian revolution. 

But while a left-back and a central midfielder may be Forest’s top priorities, there could still be room at the City Ground for another number nine too. Forest averaged only a goal-a-game in 2022/23. Hence the interest in Sydney van Hooijdonk, per The Athletic’s David Ornstein. 

The son of infamous former Forest hitman Pierre van Hooijdonk and an instinctive, one-touch finisher; Sydney scored 19 goals on loan at Heerenveen last season but appears to have no future at his parent club.  

Serie A outfit Bologna, Tuttomercatoweb report, are willing to accept offers of just £2.5 million. The Rossoblu recently left Van Hooijdonk out of their pre-season plans. 

More attainable and far more affordable than Sangare and Jakobs; Van Hooijdonk would not be a game-changing addition to Cooper’s squad. But he would add depth to a department short of genuine quality.