The quality of the Nottingham Forest squad has improved significantly over the last year, so much so that Antonio Conte was desperate to sign a Reds star.
Evangelos Marinakis has truly put his money where his mouth is this summer to help the Reds maintain their upward trajectory, with Forest’s wage bill now comparable with Juventus and Inter Milan.
The over £200m in transfer fees saw the likes of Omari Hutchinson join Forest for £37m, a fee similar to the deal that saw Forest sign Dilane Bakwa from Strasbourg.
Remarkably, though, Forest actually beat Serie A champions Napoli to a signing this summer, a deal that greatly frustrated manager Antonio Conte.
Antonio Conte specifically asked to sign Dan Ndoye
Before the likes of Hutchinson and Bakwa, Dan Ndoye became Forest’s record signing in a £34m deal from Bologna, replacing Anthony Elanga on the right.
It wasn’t a straightforward deal by any means, as Napoli were rivalling Forest for Ndoye before he made the switch to the City Ground at the end of July.
According to Area Napoli, it seemed as if Conte was the specific driving force behind Napoli’s interest in Ndoye, with the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss seemingly frustrated at his side missing out on the winger.
The report said: “Antonio Conte considered him [Ndoye] crucial to his initial plan, the 4-3-3. The former Bologna player reportedly assured the Salento coach of both quantity and quality.
“Antonio Conte, addressing Giovanni Manna, explicitly said: ‘A fantastic player, he’d be right up our alley.’ But Giovanni Manna couldn’t satisfy him. The player’s valuation reached such high figures (between salary and transfer fee) that the club decided to take a step back and look elsewhere.”
It’s no surprise that Conte became obsessed with the idea of signing Ndoye, considering the remarkable goal the winger scored for Bologna against Napoli last season.
Dan Ndoye showed Antonio Conte what he can do in April
Ndoye made a perfect start to his Premier League career with a goal in Forest’s 3-1 win over Brentford on the opening day of the season.
It’s not as if Conte and Napoli needed any reminder of what the 24-year-old can offer, though, given the remarkable goal he scored against the eventual Italian champions in April.
Ndoye found himself in the centre of the box as Bologna attacked down the left, with a low cross allowing him to back heel a strike over the goalkeeper to level the game.
This level of technique has already been shown at the City Ground so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the goals continue to flow for Ndoye, especially in the more attacking system that Ange Postecoglou will deploy at Forest.
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