Nottingham Forest have been encouraged to return for NEC Nijmegen midfielder Kodai Sano in he summer transfer window.
And that encouragement has come from the Dutch club’s technical director, Carlos Aalbers. Soccer News cover comments from him today.
Sano was the subject of late, intense interested at the end of the January transfer window. Ajax started the bidding with a €15m bid, which was rejected. That was despite Sano indicating he’d like to make the move.
Then Nottingham Forest entered the fray. Sean Dyche’s side reportedly blew Ajax out of the water with a €20m bid. That was also rejected by NEC Nijmegen, who had no interest in selling.
They have financial backing behind the scenes, something that allowed them to reject what would have been a club record sale. Their decision to reject the bids has been questioned since.
But they’re confident with their decision, as they eye a strong end to the season. They’re currently third on 38 points, one point behind Feyenoord in second. Their sixth placed finish in 2024 was their highest in 20 years.
Losing a key player like Sano, then, was not contemplated, even with the financial rewards. Aalbers, though, has invited Nottingham Forest and others to return in the summer.
“We managed it internally,” he said about the interest.
“I first talk to Kodai, then his management. After that, I tell the clubs that we won’t accept any offers. They were good, mind you, but they’re very welcome in the summer. Right now, we’re on a journey towards something great, and we want to finish it together.”
“€20 million is, of course, a huge sum,” Soccer News add him saying to De Gelderlander.
“The advantage is that we have Marcel Boekhoorn on hand. Without him, we couldn’t have refused such amounts. We’re still not standing on our own two feet. At the end of the transfer window, Boekhoorn told us: even if they offer double, a transfer is not something we want.”
“It’s understandable that Sano wants to make a move. Four clubs have made offers for him, including Premier League and Bundesliga clubs. We certainly want to work towards a good transfer for him, but the timing wasn’t right.
“He’s been flexible and never pushed back. A South American player in his situation might have grabbed me by the throat and stopped showing up for training. That’s why we’re going to offer Sano a top-tier transfer next summer.”