Nottingham Forest have moved from interest to concrete action in their pursuit of Joaquín Oso. However, the defender’s future has quickly become more complicated.
Earlier this Tuesday, we covered reports from Spain explaining that Oliver Glasner’s side had re-emerged strongly in the race for the left-back.
They held direct talks with Sevilla. And they were hoping to take advantage of Fiorentina’s failure to submit a formal proposal.
But the latest developments have now taken the story in an unexpected direction.
First Forest offer falls well short
According to El Desmarque, citing journalist Alonso Rivero, Nottingham Forest submitted an opening offer worth €6m (£5.2m) for Oso. Sevilla immediately rejected the proposal.
That came as little surprise. The Spanish club have consistently valued the 23-year-old at around €15m (£13m). They have maintained this figure throughout recent reports.
With Fiorentina still yet to make an official bid, Forest appeared to have become the first club to make a genuine move for the defender.
Marinakis twist
Joaquin Oso
Joaquin Oso
Shortly after the Spanish reports emerged, journalist Luca Bendoni provided a rather unexpected update.
According to him, Sevilla and the Marinakis Group have now reached a verbal agreement worth around €6m (£5.2m) plus add-ons for Oso.
However, despite Nottingham Forest’s long-standing interest, Bendoni states the Spaniard is expected to join Olympiacos instead, even though he remains a candidate for the Premier League club.
The situation now looks quite unusual. Only hours after reports in Spain suggested Sevilla had rejected a €6m (£5.2m) offer and expected Nottingham Forest to return with an improved proposal, there is now talk of an agreement at virtually the same level through the Marinakis Group.
Whether there are significant bonuses involved, whether the deal structure differs from the proposal discussed by the Spanish media, or whether the move is part of a wider multi-club strategy has not yet been made clear.
What is obvious is that Evangelos Marinakis appears to be orchestrating the transfer within his group of clubs, with Olympiacos currently the expected destination.
That does not necessarily close the door on Nottingham Forest. Marinakis has regularly used movement between his clubs as part of player development and squad planning, so this is a situation worth watching over the coming weeks.