Nottingham Forest have taken four points from their opening two Premier League games this season against Brentford and Crystal Palace.
The future of Nuno Espirito Santo is up in the air, with the head coach facing some serious speculation last week after suggesting his relationship with Evangelos Marinakis has now changed.
Espirito Santo wants to talk things out with Marinakis and Edu, with the genuine possibility that those discussions take place before the game with West Ham on Sunday.
If there is one Premier League team that needs a lift right now, it’s West Ham. They lost 3-0 to Sunderland before losing 5-1 to Chelsea and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Wolves.
The Hammers need signings and it would appear that they’re in the process of trying to sign one of Espirito Santo’s top players before the transfer deadline.
Nottingham Forest midfielder Ibrahim Sangare
Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images
How Nottingham Forest feel about letting Ibrahim Sangare join West Ham
Sangare was linked with West Ham on Tuesday afternoon and that did come as a bit of a surprise considering the midfielder has started the season so well.
According to The Athletic, Forest might be willing to let Sangare leave before the deadline, but only if some of the £30 million that the Reds paid to PSV for his services is recouped.
As a result, any potential loan move would have to include a deal that made the move permanent at some point in the future, likely as an obligation.
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Sangare has begun the season in solid style, providing defensive solidity for the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson to drive forward with the ball.
Forest allowing Sangare to leave would be an error
At 27, Sangare is approaching his prime, and after working hard to come back from a number of injuries and illness concerns, he deserves a chance to show the Forest fans what he’s capable of.
Forest have spent a fair bit of cash this summer on increasing the strength in depth and naturally, some more departures will take place before the deadline.
However, Sangare has started the first two games of the season and given that Forest haven’t lost, it’s hard to imagine Espirito Santo wanting to sanction the exit of an influential player.
Furthermore, West Ham are a Premier League rival and letting him leave to bolster their midfield ranks before the 2025/26 season really gets going could prove to be a costly mistake.