Nottingham Forest signed Callum Hudson-Odoi in a sensational coup back in the summer of 2023.
The England winger had fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea amid poor form and a series of cruel injuries. Steve Cooper wasn’t fussed, however, and took a chance on the player he’d managed for the England under-17 team who won the World Cup in 2017.
Forest paid just £3 million for Hudson-Odoi, which in this day and age is quite staggering. The Reds haven’t looked back either, with the forward reviving his career at the City Ground.
The signing of Hudson-Odoi represented a change of tactic in the transfer market. Now, Forest might have a golden opportunity to make a repeat of that particular deal and sign a player who played for Chelsea last season.
Nottingham Forest should try cheeky bid to sign Jadon Sancho
Despite coming to the fore at the end of the season when Sancho scored in the UEFA Conference League final and helped Chelsea reach the Champions League, Enzo Maresca is choosing not to sign him for £25 million and will send him back to Manchester United.
That leaves Sancho in relative limbo. He earns a sizeable wage of £275,000-a-week at Old Trafford and Ruben Amorim has no desire to hand the £73 million player a reprieve with the Red Devils next season.
Despite Chelsea being slow burners in the Premier League during 2024/25, Sancho was in fine form. He made 42 appearances in all competitions, scoring five times and registering 10 assists.
That sort of form is unlikely to see him earn a shot with an elite club next season. However, a move to Forest should allow him to play more frequently from the start and give him a gateway back into European competition.
Ian Wright is a huge fan of Sancho and called him ‘amazing’ last season when he was enjoying a strong run of form in the team under Maresca.
Sancho feels like a pipedream for Forest
Being totally honest, the chances of Forest getting Sancho are remote. However, when the likes of Brentford and Newcastle are mentioned with possibly signing him, perhaps there will be a chance later in the window.
Sancho can operate on either flank or through the middle and at 25-years-old, he does fit the profile of the sort of player that Forest have tried to recruit in recent windows.
Evangelos Marinakis is extremely ambitious. As a result, nothing should be considered too far out of reach and perhaps this could be a signing that Forest could look towards as the window progresses.
Much like Hudson-Odoi did, Sancho would have to alter his wage demands or be willing to move to Forest on a temporary deal, with United footing a sizeable chunk of his salary.
Stellar signings will be the order of the day for Forest this summer. As a result, a cheeky attempt to land Sancho wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world for the summer transfer window.
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