“We want to return to playing the Champions League and that’s why we MUST sign this lad by January”- Nottingham Forest Boss Nuno Espirito Santos told the fans that the club are ready to make a £16M+ January bid to sign ‘important’ ace ahead of UCL football by 2025

“We want to return to playing the Champions League and that’s why we MUST sign this lad by January”- Nottingham Forest Boss Nuno Espirito Santos told the fans that the club are ready to make a £16M+ January bid to sign ‘important’ ace ahead of UCL football by 2025

Nottingham Forest ready to make £16m+ January bid to sign “important” ace

With the January transfer window just days away, Nottingham Forest are now reportedly ready to make a January offer to sign an attacking target worth over £16m next month.

Nottingham Forest transfer news

It’s not just on the pitch that Forest are likely to benefit from the job that Nuno Espirito Santo is doing, with their race towards European qualification likely to attract a plethora of impressive names in both January and the summer transfer window. On that front, clinical goalscorer Manfred Ugalde has already been linked with a 2025 move to the City Ground.

The Spartak Moscow striker has scored 15 goals in 18 league games so far this season and is undoubtedly one to watch at just 22 years old. Given that Chris Wood is not getting any younger either, welcoming an inevitable replacement would be yet another piece of transfer genius by all involved at Nottingham Forest.

Competing for shock Champions League qualification, the January transfer window could prove to be the final key to unlocking a historic season if those in the Midlands get things right. Recent reports certainly suggest that Forest and Evangelos Marinakis could be set to steal plenty of headlines come the start of next month.

According to Turkish outlet Star via Sport Witness, Nottingham Forest are now ready to offer €20m (£16.6m) to sign Baris Alper Yilmaz in the January transfer window in a deal that would see a long-term target finally arrive.

That said, Galatasaray reportedly value their winger at more than £16m to leave Nottingham Forest pondering their options and weighing up just how much they, themselves, believe Yilmaz is worth.

Of course, given that Espirito Santo already has Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga, Jota Silva and Ramon Sosa to choose from on both flanks, begging the question as to whether Forest need to splash out on Yilmaz.

Forest don’t need to overpay for “important” Yilmaz

For the first time in a long time, Forest find themselves in a position of luxury in the transfer window, with a wealth of options already to choose from in pursuit of European football. And with that luxury comes the opportunity to land deals at the right price instead of paying extortionate fees at a desperate time, which should give them plenty to think about when it comes to Yilmaz.

The 24-year-old has enjoyed an impressive season so far, scoring nine goals and assisting another in just 24 games in all competitions, but Forest should keep their fee within their budget and at least around their reported opening offer worth £16.6m.

If they can do that then they have the chance to land an eventual bargain, given the praise that Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk sent Yilmaz’s way during Euro 2024 last summer.

The Dutchman told reporters as relayed by GiveMeSport: “Baris Alper Yilmaz was running constantly. He was running elusive. It was difficult for every defender. He made it very hard for us. He couldn’t score a goal though. If we were to describe him in any way, he is a really important player.”