Nottingham Forest hope to bring Abde Ezzalzouli to the Premier League this summer but the Osasuna loanee is prioritising a return to La Liga leaders Barcelona instead, according to Sport.
A member of the Morocco squad who reached the semi-finals of the Qatar World Cup – becoming the first ever African side to do so – Abde has picked up where he left off on the club stage in recent weeks.
The silky winger scored an 85th minute winner during Osasuna’s 3-2 triumph over Sevilla last weekend. More contributions like this will only boost Abde’s chances of securing a first-team role at his parent club; Sport claiming that the 21-year-old still hopes to return to the Camp Nou before establishing himself under Xavi Hernandez.
Nottingham Forest, then, must turn on the charm if they are serious about luring Abde to the City Ground. Forest, the report adds, are ‘thinking seriously’ about signing a right-footed left winger who loves to drift inside onto his favoured boot and fire shots at goal.
Nottingham Forest like Barcelona youngster Abde Ezzalzouli
Given Barca’s well-publicised financial problems, however, it is not difficult to imagine Forest making an offer good enough to twist Blaugrana arms. Even if Xavi is a fan of a player who burst onto the scene following Ronald Koeman’s 2021 departure.
“Extraordinary. The effort is extraordinary,” Xavi said at the time. “Abde’s game is spectacular.
“Abde is a differential player. He can make a difference. He is a dagger. A marvel. (He is) making the difference in a tremendous way.”
Per Sport, Xavi does see a future at the Camp Nou for Abde. The sale of Memphis Depay to Atletico Madrid and Ousmane Dembele’s ongoing injury issues mean there is space for another winger, and Abde is proving on loan at Osasuna that he can be relied upon to produce match-changing contributions at La Liga level.
He is under contract until the summer of 2026.
At Forest, meanwhile, interest in Abde raises further questions about Emmanuel Dennis’ future. The £20 million Nigeria international also prefers to drift in from the left, but has struggled to make any sort of an impact since leaving Watford last summer.
Dennis has only played 34 minutes of Premier League football in 2023. He has started just once since the 4-1 FA Cup thrashing at Blackpool. Abde’s arrival, meanwhile, may also lead to doubts about Jesse Lingard’s future.
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