Nottingham Forest look to have found their striking target with talks to sign Igor Jesus advancing, but Botafogo owner John Textor could spoil the excitement.
Forest are in advanced talks to sign Jesus as competition for Chris Wood, with the Brazilian market already showing its potential for the club with the Murillo signing.
It looked as if Forest would miss out as Arsenal had targeted Jesus, but swift action from Evangelos Marinakis looks to have seen the Reds steal a march on their Premier League rivals.
Nuno Espírito Santo will be hoping the deal can be finalised quickly so he can plan for next season with the 24-year-old in mind, but key figures at Botafogo are reportedly expecting the saga to go on a little longer.
Photo by Daniel Castelo Branco/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Photo by Daniel Castelo Branco/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Botafogo are expecting rival bids for Igor Jesus
After Jesus scored on his Brazil debut back in October, it’s no surprise that teams across Europe have taken an interest in the 24-year-old.
It looks as if Forest are leading the race, but according to Otempo, Botafogo aren’t ruling out the potential of a bidding war.
The report said: “John Textor’s SAF believes that larger proposals should appear on the table in the coming weeks. Initially, an offer starting at 25 million euros (R$ 161 million) was seen as a positive option.”
Reports have suggested that Forest’s offer for Jesus sits at £16.8m, five million below this “positive option” that Textor seems to be looking for.
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As part of the proposed Forest offer, the club would wait until after the Club World Cup to sign Jesus, but that tournament could well be the spark that ignites the bidding war.
Igor Jesus starring in the Club World Cup could be a problem
The Club World Cup may not be the most important competition for fans of the English clubs involved, but for the players of the likes of Botafogo, it could be the spotlight that gets them a dream move to Europe.
At the very least, Jesus will be facing off against PSG and Atletico Madrid in the group stages of the competition. If he were to star in either of those matches or even if Botafogo were to qualify for the knockout stages, teams such as Arsenal could well re-enter the race.
Jesus rejected Forest in January to stay at Botafogo, so if a bidding war were to break out, the Forest owner would be concerned that a similar rejection could come his way once more.