Danilo’s proposed move to Lyon is looking less and less likely, but it’s not just the Brazilian who will suffer from its collapse.
Given that Evangelos Marinakis and John Textor have a good relationship, it made sense that Forest would once again do dealings with Lyon this summer.
Forest sold Moussa Niakhate to Lyon in 2024 and it looked as if Danilo would be next to make the trip over the channel, but the French side’s financial issues may have ended the chances of that deal going through.
Danilo could now go on loan to Real Betis which would see Forest miss out on the £20m fee, which is even more frustrating when hearing what his potential replacement would cost.
AC Milan star Yunus Musah.
Photo by Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images
Danilo loan could impact Nottingham Forest’s interest in Yunus Musah
Forest have opened talks to sign Yunus Musah from AC Milan, with the versatile American able to play both centrally and out wide in the midfield.
This would make him the ideal replacement for Danilo in the Forest squad as more of an advanced option for Nuno Espírito Santo’s midfield pair given that there are already an abundance of defensive midfielders at the club.
Il Wolverhampton è interessato a Yunus Musah, che può lasciare il Milan per 20-25 milioni.
La Premier ora per Musah è la soluzione più probabile: il Nottingham Forest ha avviato un dialogo nei giorni scorsi. pic.twitter.com/HPnmmSnImc
— luca bianchin (@lucabianchin7) June 27, 2025
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Now, according to Italian journalist Luca Bianchin, Musah would be available for around £20m, coincidentally the very same fee that Danilo would’ve garnered from Lyon.
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Frustrating enough on its own, Espírito Santo will still be desperate to bring Musah to the City Ground as he shines in statistical areas that would be perfect for Forest.
Yunus Musah would bring a new aspect to Nottingham Forest
Forest fans were ok with Danilo leaving due to the fee coming in, but also as he arguably wasn’t offering anything different to the rest of the midfield options ahead of him.
This is where Musah would come in and be a real asset to the Forest coaching staff, given his ability to drive the ball forward from midfield.
Statistic Yunus Musah
Progress passes per 90 2.90
Carries into final third per 90 2.31
Successful takeons per 90 1.32
Yunus Musah’s 24/25 season
Musah excels at carrying the ball from midfield and into the attacking areas, which would mean that the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White could stay further forward, rather than dropping deeper to pick up the ball.
It also shows how Musah can adapt to playing out wide, which would be useful to Espírito Santo as he had a tendency to rely on central midfielders in a hybrid wide role when either Anthony Elanga or Callum Hudson-Odoi were unavailable last season.