Nottingham Forest and John Textor have been intrinsically linked this summer, with incomings from Botafogo as well as the UEFA drama that had Textor at the centre.
Textor and Forest first became linked this summer as Forest plotted a triple raid of Botafogo, the Brazilian side that forms part of Textor’s Eagle football group.
This raid led to Forest signing Igor Jesus, while defender Jair Cunha also arrived from Botafogo a few weeks later, amid Textor’s battle to prove that he had no decisive influence on Crystal Palace to stop them dropping out of the UEFA Europa League.
To the dismay of Palace fans, he couldn’t prove his case and Forest took their place in the Europa League pending an appeal. With tensions high between the two fan bases, Palace fans won’t be best pleased to see that Textor is now in talks to do Forest a financial favour by signing a fringe squad player.
John Textor in ‘advanced talks’ to sign Nottingham Forest star for Botafogo
As well as Palace and Botafogo, Textor also owned a controlling stake in Lyon, where he was attempting to deal with Forest once more as Matt Turner was set to sign for Lyon, a deal that has yet to materialise.
While court proceedings have pitted Palace and Textor essentially against Forest, the Eagles fans can’t have been happy to see their now former part-owner do dealings with Evangelos Marinakis. According to UOL in Brazil, though, Textor is about to provide Forest with a welcome financial boost.
The report said: “Botafogo has made progress in negotiations to sign midfielder Danilo from Nottingham Forest in England.
“Glorioso is now seeking an agreement with the Premier League club for the 24-year-old, who was pleased with the project presented. Both parties are optimistic that the deal will be finalised.
“The good relationship between John Textor, owner of Botafogo’s SAF, and Greek magnate Evangelos Marinakis, owner of Nottingham Forest, has facilitated negotiations.”
Danilo had struggled to earn a place in Nuno Espírito Santo’s squad after enduring an injury-hit first half of the 24/25 season, with a move back to Brazil giving him the chance to re-find the form that brought him to the Premier League.
For Textor, though, the relief will be significant as Danilo is a player he has been trying to sign all summer, and not just for Botafogo.
John Textor initially wanted to sign Danilo for Lyon
Due to Lyon’s financial situation, which saw the French giants briefly relegated from Ligue 1, Textor is no longer involved at the club, but one of his final acts was to attempt to sign Danilo.
Lyon were heavily interested in Danilo but their financial situation was no secret, unsurprisingly leading to negotiations breaking down as Lyon fought to prove their financial responsibility to the French football authorities.
In true Textor style, though, the deal presented involved two of his clubs as Textor wanted to put a move to Botafogo in Danilo’s Lyon deal, something the midfielder reportedly wasn’t keen on.
Now, though, it seems as if Danilo has had a change of heart and Textor will get his man, providing Forest with a fee that will undoubtedly agitate Palace fans who have a difficult relationship with Textor and Forest at the moment.
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