Nottingham Forest tried to sign Festy Ebosele during the 2022 January transfer window but the player rejected the move. Instead, he opted to sign a pre-contract agreement with Udinese in Serie A and he must already be regretting that decision.
Forest tried a cheeky play to take advantage of the perilous situation at Derby County. Ebolsele was in decent form for the Rams and the Reds tried to land him on the cheap with his contract expiring.
In fairness to Ebosele, he made his decision with his heart. He couldn’t kick Derby whilst they were down and instead he opted to reject the advances of the club’s fiercest rivals.
The youngster wasn’t loyal to the point where he chose to stay put, however. He signed a pre-contract agreement with Udinese and headed to Italy at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
Ebosele earned the move on the back of some fine performances for Derby. He played 41 times for the East Midlands-based outfit, scoring twice and claiming two assists.
His time at Udinese is still in the early stages. It’s fair to say, however, that the 20-year-old could already be regretting moving to Italy rather than making the switch along the A52.
Forest tried to sign Ebosele and he must be wondering if he made the right call
Had Ebosele chosen to join Forest he would now be featuring in a Premier League squad. In hindsight, the youngster didn’t know that when he made his made up but his Udinese move isn’t going well.
Although the Republic of Ireland man is featuring regularly in the matchday squad, he isn’t playing football. So far during 2022/23, he’s been on the pitch for just 99 minutes and that’s hampered his progress.
Ebosele has lightning pace, decent skill and can operate on either side of the pitch. Indeed, that versatility would have made him a very useful addition to the Forest ranks.
The former Derby academy graduate must now accept his decision. He penned a long-term contract with Udinese and his chances of regular football right now look incredibly bleak.
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