Former PSV figure said Nottingham Forest star is ‘better on one leg’ than entire Leicester squad in 2022

Add as preferred source on Google

Nottingham Forest and Leicester City are only rivals by virtue of both clubs being based in the East Midlands.

Unless, of course, you’re a Leicester supporter.

A brief rivalry history if we may. Forest and Derby exclusively hate each other. Leicester – keen to adopt a main rivalry – hate Forest, but that’s not reciprocated in the slightest on the banks of the River Trent.

When the two clubs met in October, it was their cup final. They won’t mind us saying that, it’s the match their fans all wanted to win yet they watched on as Forest won 3-1 with Reds fans chanting the name of Steve Cooper – their manager at the time.

Giving Leicester some credit, they’ve been on quite the ride. In 2016 the Foxes stunned the world of football by winning the Premier League and they then reached the quarter-final of the Champions League.

In 2022 when Forest won promotion, Leicester were shopping for players too and it would appear that they had designs on signing one midfielder who ended up at the City Ground.

• READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel drops Morgan Gibbs-White hint

Leicester mocked when they tried to sign Ibrahim Sangare in 2022

Before Sangare swapped PSV for the banks of the River Trent he was courted by a host of clubs around Europe.

Most notably, Bayern Munich and PSG enquired about Sangare, with Liverpool also eyeing him way before he came to Forest.

Leicester were one club interested in signing Sangare in the summer of 2022 but a PSV figure mocked that idea in an interview with Voetbal 4U.

Aad de Mos who managed Ajax, PSV and Weder Bremen said: “Ibrahim Sangare is better on one leg than Leicester’s entire midfield.

“He is extraordinary. This season, he has been the king of PSV. You only miss Sangare when he’s not playing.

“Sangare isn’t just right for Leicester. He can easily keep up at an even higher club. He could easily play for Tottenham and certainly Arsenal.

“Sangare is a great player. I think £30m is a good price. It’s a bargain.”

Sangare striving for consistency at Nottingham Forest

Forest parted with £30 million in the summer of 2023 to sign Sangare but things haven’t quite gone according to plan just yet.

The Ivorian has struggled with injuries and illness since signing for the club with a consistent run of games not forthcoming at the City Ground just yet.

Sangare’s best form came at the start of the 2024/25 campaign. He started the first four games and made more tackles than any other Premier League player but was then ruled out until the New Year with a hamstring problem.

Right now, he’s proving a squad player but Nuno Espirito Santo has spoken about the whole squad being needed between now and the end of the campaign.

Sangare hasn’t really lived up to his price tag just yet but with Forest on the cusp of European football, his experience in those competitions might just prove vital when next season gets underway.