Nottingham Forest look ready to be active in the transfer market, but Evangelos Marinakis’ best piece of business could well be retaining his top stars.
Two of Nuno Espirito Santo’s most important Forest stars were already tied down to new deals in January, with Murillo earning a new contract swiftly followed by Chris Wood’s new Forest deal.
This action in January was perhaps overshadowed by the lack of new faces at the City Ground, but it was made clear that Marinakis’ January priority was to keep the dressing room intact.
The summer window won’t quite have the same emphasis, but a report into three contract offers that Marinakis looks set to make shows that keeping the Forest squad together is still important.
Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Ola Aina one of three Nottingham Forest stars in contract talks
Marinakis will certainly be busy in the summer, judging by the number of exciting talents that are being linked with the club. Forest have shown interest in Liam Delap most recently to emphasise the summer ambition.
Ambition is not limited to new signings, though, as The Telegraph reports that three of Espirito Santo’s most important starters could be in line for new contracts.
The report said: “[Neco] Williams is in line for an improved deal after his excellent season, and Hudson-Odoi has held initial talks over improved terms with discussions to advance in the summer.
“Ola Aina has been another stand-out player and the expectation is that he will sign a new contract that has been on the table for months. He has already triggered an extra year which will cover next season.”
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Undoubtedly excellent news for Reds fans as, in Aina’s case especially, there has been uncertainty in the contract situation of a number of top stars as interest from elsewhere grows.
Hudson-Odoi has been linked with Manchester United to highlight this concern, but the winger especially could become one of the Reds’ highest earners if he chooses to stay.
Who are Nottingham Forest’s highest-paid players
With Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving, Liverpool have been monitoring Aina, so this new contract cannot come soon enough.
For the three involved, though, their performances this season certainly warrant a pay rise, potentially putting them amongst the top earners at the club.
Player Salary (per week)
Nikola Milenkovic £105,000
Chris Wood £90,000
Morgan Gibbs-White £80,000
Callum Hudson-Odoi £80,000
Neco Williams £50,000
Ola Aina £40,000
Nottingham Forest 24/25 wages via Capology
The discrepancy between those at the top of the list and those in the middle of the pack, such as Aina, is quite stark, but he and Williams could well be set to reach closer to the £80,000 benchmark with new contracts.
Hudson-Odoi, on the other hand, could well be catapulted to the very top of the leaderboard in an attempt to stave off interest from both United and teams in Italy.