Club president slaps £58m+ price tag on player Steve Cooper refused to use at Nottingham Forest

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Steve Cooper might want to look away as a player he refused to play at times at Nottingham Forest is now valued at over £60 million.

Nottingham Forest spent wisely this summer, which hasn’t always been the case.

Interestingly, Nedum Onuoha labelled the Reds as having the best summer transfer window of any club in the Premier League, and it’s easy to see why.

It’s taken Nikola Milenkovic just nine games to become a favourite at Nottingham Forest, already being hailed as ‘so valuable’ by Nuno Espirito Santo.

Even one of Milenkovic’s former Fiorentina teammates Vincent Laurini was stunned that he was allowed to leave for just £12 million.

And Nottingham Forest fans will be just as stunned as Laurini once they hear which former Forest player is now valued at above £60 million.

Nottingham Forest flop turns fortunes around at new club

Steve Cooper has to be praised for the signing of Chris Wood. But there was one player who just couldn’t prove himself under the former Nottingham Forest boss.

Nuno Tavares joined Nottingham Forest on season-long loan back in September of last year.

However, he just couldn’t prove himself at the City Ground and wasn’t fancied by Cooper, who opted to use Harry Toffolo, Ola Aina and Neco Williams instead, which saw him make just eight appearances.

Indeed, Tavares was looking to leave by January because of the lack of game time.

Interestingly, he’s transformed into a new beast since then, leaving Arsenal and finding a home at Italian club Lazio, where Tavares ranks as the best in the world for take-ons.

Now, Lazio club president Claudio Lotito has come out and stated that he wouldn’t even sell the left-back for £58 million after his rise to stardom, according to Il Messaggero (via La Lazio Siamo Noi).

“I won’t sell Tavares, not even for €70 million. We have beaten off strong competition from the big clubs to sign the left-back in the summer.”

Nottingham Forest’s new star man Ola Aina

Ola Aina has made the left and right-back position his own at times this season, showing his versatility to allow Alex Moreno to operate on the other side.

Alan Shearer loved the way he tormented Cooper and his old side Leicester City last time out, as he put in a ‘superb’ shift at the King Power Stadium.

However, his fine form has come at a cost, as Juventus and AS Roma have registered an interest in signing Aina, and they believe it can be achieved at a cheap price.

In an attempt to counter the interest, Forest are now looking to tie Aina down to a new deal.