A report has claimed that Arsenal tried to sign Nottingham Forest star Danilo on two occasions earlier in his career. The Reds landed the Brazilian in January for a fee of £16 million and he’s already a big hit with the fan base.
Forest needed to add to their midfield ranks in January. Ryan Yates picked up an injury, whilst Cheikhou Kouyate returned from the World Cup with a hamstring problem.
They plumped for Danilo and it appears that Arsenal knew all about him. The Daily Mail has today claimed that the Gunners pulled out of a deal for the 22-year-old on two previous occasions.
A loss for the North Londoners is a gain for Forest. Danilo showcased on Saturday exactly what Arsenal are missing as the Reds defeated the Gunners 1-0 at the City Ground.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s goal in the 19th minute ensured Forest stayed in the Premier League for another year; whilst it also ended any faint hopes that Arsenal had of winning the Premier League title.
Danilo has grown as a player since arriving. He’s scored three goals in recent weeks, with two of them coming in wins against Brighton and Southampton.
The Brazilian will now hope to continue an upward trajectory next season. He will surely begin the campaign as a regular in the midfield engine room and hopefully, he can lead Forest up the table.
Head coach Steve Cooper is a huge fan. He’s managed him just nicely and in April he called him ‘exciting’ following a game against Wolves at the City Ground.
Arsenal tried to sign Forest star Danilo on two occasions
This perhaps makes it easy to see why Forest put faith in the midfielder and gave him a six-and-a-half-year contract. That was a little surprising but on current form, it’s easy to see why the club chose to do exactly that.
Mikel Arteta must be wondering what might have been with Danilo. At 22 he will only get better and even if a big club does come calling, Forest will surely make a huge profit on their £16 million.
The scary thing is that there is more to come from Danilo. Next season could be a huge one for the player and it’s very exciting to see exactly what the player is capable of.