Nottingham Forest are notorious in the transfer market for making one signing that comes out of the blue and shocks everybody.
After winning promotion to the Premier League, the club persuaded Jesse Lingard that the City Ground was the place for him to revive himself.
One year later he was out on his ear and Forest showcased that they’d not learned anything by taking Divock Origi on loan.
In between those deals, Forest paid Jonjo Shelvey an astronomical amount of money to actually contribute very little to the football club.
These signings are the sort that Forest will surely hope to steer clear of this summer, with recruitment guru George Syrianos going about his business well so far.
Now, a report is doing the rounds that could suggest Forest are going to slip back towards their old ways.
Nottingham Forest offered James Rodriguez
The man who has recently starred for Colombia at the Copa America is a free agent during this summer’s transfer window.
With that in mind, it’s been claimed by BN Sports in Greece that Nottingham Forest – and Aston Villa – have been offered the chance to sign him.
It will come as no surprise that Rodriguez is a client of the Gestifute agency which was founded by Jorge Mendes.
It’s absolutely no secret that Evangelos Marinakis works closely with Mendes and that’s perhaps why he’s been offered to Forest.
Rodriguez scored once and claimed six assists at the Copa America, with Colombia losing to Argentina in the final.
Last season he was on the books with Sao Paulo and barely played which would surely make him a risky signing for Forest to make.
His club career is colourful, to say the least, however, He’s played for Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Porto, Monaco, Everton and Olympiacos.
He’s won the Champions League twice and a host of league titles but there is something about this potential signing that doesn’t sit right.
Forest have to say no to James Rodriguez
Three or four years ago this would have been amazing and in another dimension perhaps Forest could justify this deal.
However, with the club working diligently to comply with PSR this time around, it’s vital that the club start to put foundations in place to do things properly.
Rodriguez might be 33 but he will still be craving a sizeable wage and Forest would be much cuter to go for a younger option with resale value.
The fact that Rodriguez is a left-footed player does make him attractive but that is where the beauty in this signing stops really.
Forest are hoping to land a winger before the transfer window closes but Rodriguez hardly screams future planning from a business perspective.
Mendes might be close to Marinakis but on this occasion, the Forest owner has to offer him a firm thanks but no thanks.
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