Eintracht Frankfurt are repeating their Leeds United transfer-trick on Nottingham Forest over striker Arnaud Kalimuendo.
BILD report on the striker today and Frankfurt’s efforts to get him for less than the transfer fee they’ve already agreed for the 24-year-old.
January transfer agreement
Arnaud Kalimuendo joined Eintracht Frankfurt on loan in the January transfer window following a difficult few months at Nottingham Forest.
The French striker has already racked up 14 appearances since, bagging six goals in the process. He currently has three goals in his last four games.
The transfer is seen as a ‘perfect fit’. Club officials are already describing it as a “perfect match” behind the scenes. Everything would be great, if it weren’t for the fact that a permanent transfer from Nottingham Forest is ‘hanging in the balance’.
Strictly speaking, Kalimuendo is not too expensive for the German side. The €27m clause they agreed in January is affordable. But at the moment, exercising that clause is ‘virtually impossible’ and ‘simply unfeasible’.
Intense negotiations on the way
Instead of paying the clause, Frankfurt plan to re-negotiate with Nottingham Forest. The club bosses, led by Sporting Director Markus Krösche, want to retain the striker.
They have no intention of breaking up the “perfect match”. But now they consider the clause, which they agreed to in January, as ‘excessive’.
A round of ‘intense negotiations’ are on the way to bring Nottingham Forest’s asking price down. And they want to copy the success they’ve had with Leeds United on a similar issue.
Leeds trick repeated
This is a trick that Markus Krösche has used before. He successfully employed this strategy to get Rasmus Kristensen from Leeds United.
He too was brought in on an initial loan with a fixed purchase option. That was set at €15m. In the end, Frankfurt ended up paying €6m and €2.5m in potential bonuses. That came after Frankfurt played the long game.
They made it clear, through the German media, that they were willing to risk the deal collapsing on more than one occasion. There was a long plan of pressure, which eventually saw Leeds crack.
Nottingham Forest situation important
Nottingham Forest’s potential relegation will play a factor. Eintracht Frankfurt know that their chances of a new deal would improve significantly if Forest were relegated.
They’re not even concerned about recent comments that Arnaud Kalimuendo is “strongly committed” to Forest. They just see that as a ‘premature negotiating tactic’.
The plan is a clear one. Wait, not pay the current fee, and negotiate Nottingham Forest down. They want Kalimuendo for cheaper than the price they agreed to in January.
And their experience of getting what they want with Leeds has clearly given them confidence of repeating the trip.