Nottingham Forest are interested in signing Alexander Djiku on a free transfer after the player recently departed Strasbourg at the end of his contract. The player isn’t just catching the eye of Forest, with Besiktas, Lille and Fenerbahce all making offers.
According to Foot Mercato, the Reds have actually already made a contract offer to the player. Strasbourg are also keen to keep hold of the player who typically operates as a central defender.
The 28-year-old has stalled on signing a new deal with Strasbourg and now has offers forthcoming. Interestingly the club he’s now officially left are being led by Forest-linked Patrick Vieira next season.
Djiku went to the World Cup with Ghana. It wasn’t a particularly successful campaign for the African nation as they lost twice and defeated South Korea before being dumped out at the group stages of the competition.
The defender gave a good account of himself, however. He wasn’t considered first choice for Otto Addo’s team but he did start the first game against Portugal.
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Djiku has lots of experience playing in France. As well as playing 127 times for Strasbourg, he’s made 68 appearances for Caen and a further 51 for Bastia.
Forest interested in signing Djiku and he’s been likened to Liverpool star
This would be an intriguing signing. On a free transfer, it might be one that Forest feel is worth the risk even if he’s not up to the demands of the Premier League.
Back in 2021, a 26-year-old Djiku was compared to Virgil van Dijk. His ability to get stuck into tackles and read the game incredibly well makes that a seamless comparison.
Djiku now has some offers to consider on the table. It’s likely he will make his decision in the near future, although he’s not made any decision just yet.
Rumour rating: 6/10 – on the face of things, we don’t think this signing looks like a bad one.
Forest will likely head into next season with Felipe and Moussa Niakhate as their main central defensive pairing and Djiku would be a useful backup.
Again, however, this would mean another African player signing. With the African Cup of Nations on the horizon, Forest can ill afford to lose any more players from their squad for around a month.