Eddie Nketiah has been subject to abundance of links with a move away from North London, and if the words of transfer correspondent Alex Crook of talkSPORT are to be believed – Nottingham Forest will have to make the England international the highest-paid player in their history if they are to lure him to the City Ground in the ongoing summer window.
Nottingham Forest are looking to establish themselves in the Premier League this season under Nuno Santos following the relegation battles in the previous campaigns and aiding to their objectives, the East Midlands club are actively looking to make their squad better in the ongoing transfer window.
And if you look at their problems, they have abundance of names in the striking department, however, none of them are a Premier League proven striker. To get away from those recognised problems, Gunner’s talisman Nketiah, Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez and another ‘mystery’ striker are on Nuno Espirito Santos’ wish list.
At the moment, Forest are looking to make contact with multiple clubs to sign as many strikers and see where they can get the best deal. They also submitted a £25 million plus add-ons bid for the 25-year-old which was rejected by Edu as he continues to hold for at least £30m for the Hale End graduate.
FOREST’S EDDIE NKETIAH DREAM IN JEOPARDY OVER MEGA WAGE DEMANDS
As both clubs work closely on the structure of the deal, a new problem has emerged for the suitors. It has been revealed that Nketiah doesn’t want to accept a pay cut to join Forest. He wants the club to pay him record wages, which should be along the similar lines to the (ideally, more than) £120,000-a-week that he earns at the Emirates Stadium.
Currently, Divock Origi is the highest-earning player at the City Ground with an estimated earning of £120k per week (£6.2m annual salary).
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🚨Nottingham Forest will have to make Eddie Nketiah their highest-paid player to tempt him away from Arsenal.
Nketiah – earns £120,000-a-week at the Emirates Stadium and is not willing to take a pay cut
As well as Nketiah, Forest are in talks with
Santiago Gimenez and a… pic.twitter.com/IB1jn6YaLm
— Doc (@karthikadhaigal) August 20, 2024
This will make it a risky move for Forest to pay such a fee, especially owing to their FFP problems.
Eddie is a talented player who is ready to explode at a new club but at the moment, Forest need to first work on the structure of the deal before meeting their target’s wage demands. The Tricky Trees have to make sure that it doesn’t affect their financial books.
DOES FOREST HAVE A PLAN ‘B’ IF THEY FAIL TO LAND NKETIAH?
The English side have been looking at other prospects if they are unable to lure Nketiah away from Arsenal. Feyenoord’s Gimenez is a cheaper and younger option, who is also a target for Mikel Arteta‘s side. He currently earns a meagre £30k per week at the Dutch club and Forest won’t have any problem in matching or slightly improving that weekly wage.
Gimenez scored 26 goals for his parent club in all competitions last season and he has already scored two in two games in the current Eredivisie campaign. And he looks like someone that can go on to have a big future as well which makes it a tough decistion for Espirito Santo’s side.
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With Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz ahead of him in the attacking order, the English ace might be better suited somewhere else. The Gunners want any interested club to meet their asking price and Forest needs to step up their efforts to land their number 1 target.
