Sydney van Hooijdonk is set to sign for Serie A outfit Bologna just six months after being linked with Nottingham Forest. According to Il Resto Del Carlino, the talisman will sign a four-year deal with the club.
It is claimed that the striker arrived in Italy yesterday. He has undergone a medical and will join the club as a free agent after leaving NAC Breda.
Forest and Sheffield Wednesday were both linked back in January. Football Oranje claimed that both clubs were eyeing a cut-price deal, with his contract in the final six months.
Van Hooijdonk came through the youth academy with NAC Breda. During 2020/21, he fired 16 goals in the Dutch second tier as the club narrowly missed out on promotion.
Now, the player will embark on a new challenge with Bologna. They finished 12th last season in Serie A and the son of former Forest striker, Pierre, will hope to help the club progress.
The talented centre-forward is a target man and stands at 6ft 3in tall. He comes alive in the penalty area and is a real fox in the box.
Forest will be on the lookout for a striker this summer. Both Lewis Grabban and Lyle Taylor are in their thirties and a younger option will be sought.
Will Forest regret not signing Van Hooijdonk?
Given that he’s gone to Bologna in Serie A, the Reds would have probably been powerless even if they did make an offer.
The report claims that the 21-year-old will earn just over £7,000-a-week in Italy and he may have landed a better contract in the Championship.
On a free, he may have proved a decent option. Given his age, he’d have been a long-term investment and he’d have received plenty of game time at the City Ground.
Now though he will aim to take Italy by storm. The striker looks like another one to get away from Forest’s grasp and their attentions will now turn elsewhere.