Nottingham Forest are making headway in shaping their team to Nuno Espirito Santo’s liking, but there will be more ins and outs
Fenerbache are reportedly interested in Nottingham Forest midfielder Ibrahim Sangare.
The Turkish giants, now headed by Jose Mourinho, have made the Forest player their goal as they seek to establish a defensive bedrock in their midfield. They were previously linked with Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but he was spotted in France last night ahead of a potential move to Olympique Marseille.
According to Dirilis Postasi, the Portuguese manager is interested in Sangare and Crystal Palace midfielder Jefferson Lerma, who would provide a similar defensively sound alternative for the Istanbul club.
Fernerbache’s sporting director, Mario Branco, is expected to fly to England this week for talks with both Palace and Forest as he considers who would be a better fit for Mourinho’s starting lineup.
Sangare joined Nottingham in 2023 after a successful three-year stint with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, where he won the KNVB Cup twice. He joined City Ground in September 2023 for a reported sum of £30 million. However, the price tag impacted heavily on the midfielder, who had a disappointing season, appearing in only 17 games and scoring no goals.
Under Steve Cooper’s coaching, the Ivorian appeared frequently until he was suspended before the AFCON in January. He didn’t play again until a League encounter against Aston Villa in February. He returned to the squad the following week, but did not play against Liverpool. Since then, Nuno Espirito Santo has preferred Ryan Yates, Danil, and Nicolas Dominguez over the 26-year-old, with the former Toulouse player appearing sporadically.
Speaking about Sangare in December, the previous Wolves manager stated, “He [Sangare] is not in his best moment yet.” He was extremely ill, had lost weight, and it was in his groin. But he is certainly an option for us.” It’s certainly possible that his lack of minutes was due to minor ailments and illness.
