Nottingham Forest fought hard with Napoli to secure the services of Dan Ndoye, with the manager of the Serie A champions, Antonio Conte, now opening up about the saga.
Forest made the first bid for Ndoye but it was quickly apparent that it wouldn’t be the smoothest deal to complete, given that Napoli were also in the mix for wide options after losing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in January.
However, despite the Italian giants also submitting an offer, Napoli were unwilling to meet Bologna’s demands for Ndoye which left Forest in a position of strength, one they took swift advantage of.
Now, with days to go before Reds fans see their new man in competitive action, Conte has disclosed Napoli’s side of the story.
Napoli were priced out of a move for Dan Ndoye
Ndoye has impressed Forest fans in pre-season so there’s excitement in the fanbase about what he can produce in the Premier League, having already proved his worth in Serie A.
He could’ve signed for the champions of the division, though, but Conte explained in a press conference ahead of Napoli’s friendly against Olympiacos how Ndoye slipped through their fingers.
He said: “We are making evaluations. There was a name on the list, Ndoye from Bologna, very high figures. I respect him and I even supported him, but the figures are not Napoli-worthy, and so he went elsewhere.”
At £34m, Ndoye arrived at Forest for significantly less than the fee that saw Anthony Elanga sign for Newcastle United, making the deal seem like good value on Trentside.
In Naples, though, the Swiss star was unattainable at such a price, perhaps indicating the gulf in finances between the Premier League and Serie A that Forest could be about to exploit for two more signings.
Nottingham Forest face Serie A competition for more targets
With Forest’s Europa League spot officially confirmed on Monday, Evangelos Marinakis is preparing to loosen the purse strings to ensure the final weeks of the transfer window are a success.
However, top sides in Italy look set to compete with Forest for their preferred targets at both right back and central midfield, complicating matters.
At right-back, Forest are competing with AC Milan for Jackson Tchatchoua, with reports suggesting that Milan could offer Hellas Verona players in exchange.
Whereas, in central midfield, Forest are fighting with Napoli for Yunus Musah, rekindling the rivalry seen in the Ndoye saga. Therefore, it will be interesting to see if the Premier League finances can once again reign over the prestige of Serie A giants.
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