Sandro Kulenovic has turned down a move to the Premier League with Nottingham Forest in favour of staying at Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb for the time being.
Zagreb born and raised, it would obviously take something rather special to convince Sandro Kulenovic to turn his back on his boyhood club. And a Nottingham Forest side who spent much of last season battling against relegation, it seems, just wasn’t the offer the 23-year-old targetman was looking for.
A long-time Forest target; the two-time European Champions offered £2.5 million as part of a loan-to-buy deal for Kulenovic back in 2021.
Nicknamed the ‘new Mario Mandzukic’ due to his finishing ability and his burly 6ft 3ins frame, the Croatia U21 international now appears to have rebuffed Forest’s advances again, two years on.
“If I’m going to leave Dinamo, the team must be (at the) top level,” Kulenovic says, via Karadeniz Gazete.
“Nottingham doesn’t mean much to me.”
Nottingham Forest again face Sandro Kulenovic frustration
It remains to be seen how Kulenovic feels about joining fellow Croatian Mislav Orsic at Trabzonspor instead. Turkish Super Lig champions in 2022, the Black Sea outfit are one of the biggest clubs in the country, with the likes of Maxi Gomez, Marek Hamsik and former Barcelona defender Marc Bartra all under contract.
Kulenovic, meanwhile, shares the same agent as Orsic.
The former Southampton benchwarmer (Orsic played fewer Premier League minutes than the infamous Ali Dia for the Saints) joined Trabzonspor a week ago.
“I’m extremely happy to be here,” Orsic told Sport after touching down in Turkey. “I hope we will have a good season. I have already worked with coach Nenad Bjelica (at Dinamo). And he is responsible for my coming here.
“I didn’t think much about the city I’m coming to. I came to play football.”
Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, are likely to continue targeting attacking additions. Especially with Emmanuel Dennis up for sale and attracting interest from Saudi Arabia.
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