Nottingham Forest agreed a deal to sign former Everton defender Djibril Sidibe but backed out once they landed Serge Aurier.
According to L’Equipe, the Reds had struck a deal with the World Cup winner only to pull out of a deal at the eleventh hour.
Forest did strengthen their right-back options by adding Serge Aurier to their ranks last week.
It took the new arrivals total to 22 but a deal to sign Sidibe appeared to be in place before the window closed.
Instead, the club decided not to sign him and the player recently checked in with Greek outfit AEK Athens.
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It was always a case of Aurier or Sidibe for the Reds and once the former was over the line, Forest walked away.
Steve Cooper preferred the former Tottenham man and Evangelos Marinakis once again backed his manager.
It’s likely that Aurier will only serve as a backup option to Neco Williams who was signed from Liverpool this summer.
Sidibe now links up with the Greek outfit. Former AEK Athens star Michalis Simigdalas has previously called the player ‘remarkable’ and they were very keen to sign him.
The 30-year-old has Premier League experience to his name after making 28 appearances for Everton.
Forest agreed Sidibe deal
The World Cup-winning defender would have been a useful addition to the Forest ranks.
He is perhaps less attack-minded than Aurier, however, and perhaps that’s why Forest chose to sign the ex-Spurs man.
Sidibe was part of the France squad as they won the World Cup in Russia in 2018 and he’s collected 18 caps for his country.
He will perhaps feel that he could have got himself a better move than one to the Greek top-flight.
It’s no surprise that he agreed on a deal to join Forest and a move to the Premier League would have been one that he most welcomed.
Forest chose a vastly experienced option in Aurier, however, and it’s unlikely they’ll regret their decision.