Nottingham Forest fans were sent into a brief frenzy after hearing about their agreed deal with Lyon’s Malick Fofana, but all wasn’t quite as it seemed.
Shockwaves were felt as Fabrizio Romano claimed Forest had agreed a deal for Fofana, but it was then equally made clear that an agreement on personal terms wasn’t close.
Following this, sources told Nottingham Forest News that the club were playing down Fofana speculation, with no deal agreed with the French club.
However, Lyon’s financial woes mean that Fofana will surely depart the club this summer, but new reports are suggesting that there will be no cheap deal on the cards.
Malick Fofana celebrates scoring for Lyon against Le Havre
Photo by Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Lyon set Malick Fofana price tag amid Nottingham Forest interest
As expected, Fofana is set to leave Lyon as one of the more sellable assets in the French side’s squad, as they look to regain enough financial strength to potentially win an appeal against their relegation.
According to The Independent, though, Lyon are still expecting a sizeable fee for the Belgian amid interest from Forest and other top Premier League sides.
The report said: “Lyon have set a price of at least £51.5m for 20-year-old Malick Fofana, although the interest in the winger is such that an auction may well develop this summer.
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“All of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Fulham and Nottingham Forest are in contact about the Belgian international, to go with Bayern Munich, Leipzig and Napoli in Europe. Any deal is still some way off, due to the extent of interest, with Lyon hoping to drive the price up.”
Fofana’s talent is undeniable and, paired with his age, asking for over £50m might be reasonable, but Forest must be wary of entering an auction for the winger.
Nottingham Forest must be wary of Malick Fofana auction
If competing with Champions League sides like Liverpool and Bayern Munich didn’t make a deal for Fofana hard enough, the price looks too high for what Forest are looking for.
Espírito Santo wants two wingers but not ones that will play every week, with Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi still very much the preferred pair.
It’s more the likes of Ramon Sosa who are being replaced, so spending £50m or more on Fofana doesn’t make much sense.
There remains a possibility that one star could depart as Newcastle bid for Elanga but unless a huge fee is made from that sort of exit, spending big on Fofana doesn’t seem logical.