Nottingham Forest will be eternally grateful to Steve Cooper for his efforts at the football club during his two and a half years in command.
The 44-year-old brought Premier League football back to the City Ground for the first time in 23 years, propelling the club from the basement of the second division to the Promised Land in a matter of months.
Cooper’s stock rose during the 2022/23 season when he kept the team in the top tier despite the odds.
The Welshman was fired in December of last year and replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo, with Cooper getting the Leicester City position early this summer.
Cooper now appears to be a major transfer market competitor, as Forest and Leicester compete for the same player.
Nottingham Forest battles Steve Cooper for Alexis Saelemaekers.
Forest are likely to complete the signing of Nikola Milenkovic in the coming days, with a physical scheduled for the 6ft 5in central defender.
The Reds do not look to be finished there, however, as ties to fresh players are becoming more common.
According to Calcio Mercato, several clubs are interested in Saelemaekers, including Forest, Leicester, and freshly promoted Ipswich Town.
It appears that signing him will be very simple, with AC Milan prepared to sell the player for between £8.5 and £12.5 million.
Who is Alexis Saelemaekers?
The 25-year-old can play on either wing, but he prefers to attack from the left.
He began his career with Anderlecht’s youth program and worked his way up the ranks, making 64 appearances for the first time.
AC Milan signed him in 2020, and he has 10 goals and 14 assists in 140 games for the San Siro giants.
Last season, Milan chose to loan him out to Bologna, and Saelemaekers had a memorable season there.
Bologna, which featured Forest midfielder Remo Freuler, upset Serie A by qualifying for the Champions League next season at the cost of Roma and Lazio.
He made 32 appearances for Bologna, mostly on the left wing, scoring four goals and providing three assists.
Saelemaekers could be valuable to Forest.
It would be lovely to think Forest could beat Leicester and Ipswich to the signing of a man who has 12 Belgium caps.
According to Squawka, Saelemaekers had more take-ons than Anthony Elanga previous season, with Callum Hudson-Odoi adding only three more.
The one concern we might see this season is that Forest would have another right-footed winger on their roster.
Although the Reds need another winger, a left-footed one seems a more natural fit given that both Elanga and Hudson-Odoi are right-footed.
Nonetheless, given the figures indicated, we’d absolutely support the club buying a 25-year-old ahead of his peak years if they can entice Saelemaekers to Trentside.
