Nottingham Forest made an audacious attempt to sign Inter playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu during the summer, according to Calcio Mercato.
The Reds were busy in the summer, signing 22 players and others were identified by the newly promoted side.
Calhanoglu risked the wrath of the red and black half of Milan when he joined Inter in July 2021.
Before that he spent time with Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg and Karlsruher.
Calhanoglu was on the radar of several clubs during the summer, with Premier League speculation rife.
It’s claimed that Everton and Newcastle both made enquiries with Forest also in the mix to land him.
Calhanoglu has been a regular in the team for Inter this season.
He’s made eight appearances for the club, scoring once and laying on another in the way of an assist.
In total at Inter, he’s made 57 appearances, registering 24 goal contributions during his time on the pitch.
The man with 72 caps for Turkey wouldn’t have come cheap.
Inter would have demanded a sizeable fee and the player earns a whopping £144,000-a-week at the San Siro.
He would have been a very useful signing though.
Former AC Milan boss Fatih Terim is an admirer too, previously calling him a ‘phenomenon’.
Forest attempt for Calhanoglu was ambitious
This was never going to happen.
As ambitious as Evangelos Marinakis was during the summer, this would have been a bridge too far.
For a newly promoted outfit, they were always going to find it tough to bring such quality to the club.
Furthermore, bigger clubs have been keen and if he does leave Inter the 28-year-old will have lots of suitors.
If Forest can stay up this season, perhaps they will convince more players to join.
Calhanoglu will likely remain a complete long-shot for the Reds, however, given his class.
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