Nottingham Forest have been near-impeccable in the transfer market this season, but one deal fell apart in January due to a mistake by Evangelos Marinakis.
The January deadline saw two shrewd deals come through the City Ground as Marinakis looked to secure the future of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Tyler Bindon signed for Forest from Reading on deadline day, with the 20-year-old New Zealand international linking up with Chris Wood at club level.
The deal may have gone under the radar in the football world, but Reading fans raved about Bindon as the deal was announced and a New Zealand football expert praised Bindon to get the Forest fans excited about their hot prospect.
Another prospect brought in was Joel Ndala, with Forest bringing in Ndala on loan to initially benefit the academy with an eye for the future as Forest have a clause to make the signing permanent at the end of the season.
Marinakis was actually keen on adding a third exciting starlet to the Forest Academy, but a recent report has detailed how that deal fell apart at the last minute.
Nottingham Forest’s move for Lewis Carrol suffered late collapse
In what looked like a done deal, Forest were set to sign Lewis Carrol from Aberdeen to complete a late flourish by the Forest owner adding some of the brightest talents in the UK rather than spending big on a squad player.
However, according to The Press and Journal, Carrol’s move down south to Nottingham fell apart at the final hurdle, as a result of an error on Forest’s side.
On the proposed deal, the report said that Carrol: “Had travelled from Aberdeen to Nottingham on Monday ahead of the winter window deadline.
“Carrol was given permission to head south after Aberdeen agreed a deal in principle, including a six-figure fee and significant add-ons, to sell their youth academy starlet to English top-flight Forest.”
The deal never went through, though, causing much confusion as nothing had been said by either club in the aftermath of the window shutting.
The report continued: “Carrol is now back training with the Dons at Cormack Park, with his switch to Nottingham Forest collapsing over red tape.
“It is understood the issue was an administrative one on the Forest side – with the City Ground outfit not securing the required Fifa clearance, via the FA, to sign an under-18s player cross-border.”
Whilst disappointing on its own, Forest missing out on Carrol will be even more frustrating given that both Arsenal and Chelsea are also monitoring the 16-year-old Scot.
- READ MORE: Meet Lewis Carrol, the defender turning down Arsenal and Chelsea to join Nottingham Forest
Arsenal and Chelsea are ready to pounce on Lewis Carrol
Forest would’ve been even happier to have seemingly secured the services of Carrol, given that Arsenal and Chelsea are both long-term admirers of the Aberdeen man.
A report in February 2024 by The Athletic said: “Chelsea and Arsenal are leading the race for Aberdeen youngster Lewis Carrol with both clubs interested in a summer transfer.
“The 15-year-old centre-back has been told that he will be fast-tracked into the first-team by Aberdeen, but his talent has caught the attention of the Premier League’s big clubs.”
Given the administrative blunder by Forest, the door will be back open for both London giants to return for Carrol, leaving Marinakis potentially having egg on his face should they lose out on the signing that looked a fairly simple one on deadline day.
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