Neco Williams has given Evangelos Marinakis a new Nottingham Forest dilemma, he must act immediately

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AC Milan’s interest in Neco Williams will have come as a surprise to Nottingham Forest, but it has given Evangelos Marinakis a dilemma he must act on.

Rumours of exits from Nuno Espírito Santo’s squad have been quiet as the transfer window opens, with Morgan Gibbs-White’s potential move to Manchester City the main source of worry.

However, City have moved on to other midfield targets, making it more likely that the Forest talisman remains at the City Ground this summer.

Williams has garnered interest from AC Milan to reignite concerns of potential exits, but Marinakis has the opportunity to swiftly quash these rumours.

Evangelos Marinakis must sort out Nottingham Forest’s contract situation

As the season drew to a close, Ola Aina’s contract was automatically extended to delay the concern of him leaving on a free transfer.

He now joins Williams and Callum Hudson-Odoi as important members of the Forest squad who will be out of contract at the end of next season, giving Marinakis a clear timeline to get these negotiations sorted either way.

Alongside Williams, Hudson-Odoi has been linked with the Serie A so Marinakis can either sort their contracts out or push ahead with negotiations to sell them so as to avoid the prospect of first-team stars walking for free.

Looking ahead to the following season, Gibbs-White’s contract will expire, which is again something that needs addressing. After City, Chelsea have shown interest in Gibbs-White so the option of a big-money sale remains if a contract cannot be agreed upon.

How much the top Nottingham Forest stars earn in wages

According to Capology, Forest’s top earners are:

• Nikola Milenkovic (£105,000 p/w)
• Chris Wood (90,000 p/w)
• Callum Hudson-Odoi (£80,000 p/w)
• Morgan Gibbs-White (£80,000 p/w)
• Ibrahim Sangare (£75,000 p/w)

You’d expect that, as Forest aim to become regulars in UEFA competitions, the club will begin to offer larger contracts, so Marinakis will likely have to either start making the likes of Williams and Hudson-Odoi six-figure earners, or find replacements who warrant these larger contracts.

For context, Chelsea, who beat Forest to the final Champions League spot, have a whopping 15 players earning over £100,000 per week.

Marinakis doesn’t need to immediately jump to these levels, but there will come a time when the quality required to make significant progression on the pitch will need larger investments off it.