Nottingham Forest are now thought to be close to the signing of Fenerbahce striker Michy Batshuayi. The man who the Reds almost signed on deadline day last summer now looks set to arrive at the City Ground.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the Reds are set to complete the signing of the Belgium striker before the deadline. The recent claim does suggest, however, that Forest do have some details to finalise with Fenerbahce first.
Batshuayi was all set to sign for Forest on transfer deadline day during the summer transfer window of 2022. At the eleventh hour, however, the move fell through with some issues regarding the paperwork not being submitted by Chelsea.
The lure of the Premier League looks to have been too strong for Batshuayi to resist this time around. At Chelsea, he scored 25 goals in 77 appearances, whilst he also fired eight goals in 33 appearances during his time with Crystal Palace.
Last season proved a useful one for Batshuayi in Turkey. He scored 20 goals from 32 appearances and although it’s in a lesser league, the Reds will be getting a player who is on the back of an exceptional season.
The striker was called ‘incredible’ by Antonio Conte when he was at Chelsea. The player already has two goals to his name for Fenerbahce this season too, bagging a couple of goals against Zimbru Chisinau in the UEFA Europa Conference League Qualifiers.
Forest now close to signing of Batshuayi
It’s an intriguing one to say the very least. Batshuayi to Forest appeared to have some legs on transfer deadline day but ultimately the player decided to stay with his current club rather than move to the Premier League.
Perhaps in January, he saw Forest as a club that would become embroiled in a relegation battle. In fairness, he wasn’t wrong and perhaps the Reds are better placed this time around when it comes to Batshuayi slotting into the team.
It seems likely that the player will only serve as a backup. Taiwo Awoniyi is the team’s top striker at the moment and adding Batshuayi as an option to stretch the game later on does make some sense.
Rumour rating: 6/10 – It may sound harsh but we don’t know how to feel about this one. On one hand, Forest get themselves a capable backup to Awoniyi but on the other hand, he won’t come cheap.
Forest will pay a fee to Fenerbahce for Batshuayi, whilst he also earns a salary of £82,000-a-week in Turkey and he’s going to want a decent wage at the City Ground.
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