Nottingham Forest tried to sign Youssouf Fofana during the summer transfer window. The club identified him as an option to pursue had they been unable to sign Ibrahim Sangare.
In the end, Forest did manage to get their number one target over the line on transfer deadline day. Fofana, it would seem, had no intention of heading to Forest or Fulham who were also linked.
The talented 24-year-old is a regular with the France national team. He would have been a strong signing and it’s easy to see why he was considered as an alternative to Sangare.
Fofana explains why he didn’t sign for Forest
Fofana has now lifted the lid on why his move to Forest didn’t happen in the summer. It would appear that he wasn’t keen on signing for the Reds at this stage.
He told La Diagonale: “I want to go to a place where I can continue to be selected for France. If you’re choosing between Nottingham Forest, Fulham and AS Monaco, naturally, I’m staying at Monaco.
“Sincerely I was between staying and leaving. I’ve always said I have no problem with staying, especially at a club like Monaco, who are always competing at the top.
“Maybe a departure wasn’t the best thing for me. I am very, very happy to have stayed and to have this status in the team.”
Forest have now moved on
With Forest now operating in the Premier League, they can be a little bit more ruthless with the players they sign. As a result, it’s important that they don’t add anyone who doesn’t really want to play for the club.
Fofana is a quality player and Forest would have fancied him to come in and do a job. However, it would appear that the central midfielder was wanted by Forest more then he wanted them.
Cooper speaks about the Forest values and he prides himself on buying into what the football club is all about. His players have to mirror that mindset and it seems unlikely that Fofana would have done.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
