Marinakis wants Lois Openda to scrap Leeds interest and join Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest have come storming into the race to sign an attacking star, but he was already on Leeds United’s radar ahead of the summer transfer window.

Nottingham Forest eyeing Serie A star

The Tricky Trees have plenty of work to do if they want to be back in European contention next season. Over the last two years, they’ve experienced the incredible highs and the brutal lows of the Premier League, but crucially avoided relegation. Now, under Vitor Pereira, they’ll be aiming to move well beyond the dropzone.

Evangelos Marinakis is never shy when it comes to spending money, either. Whilst much of the focus is on the future of Elliot Anderson this summer, those at the City Ground are also targeting reinforcements of their own.

Names like Jan Ziolkowski and Jean-Philippe Mateta have both threatened to steal the headlines, and the latter would certainly cause plenty of shock by swapping Crystal Palace for the Midlands.

Whether Forest can lure the Frenchman to the City Ground is another question entirely, however, just months after his move to AC Milan fell through in the final stages of the January transfer window.

It’s not just Crystal Palace that the Tricky Trees are looking to upset this summer, either. According to Tutto Juve in Italy, Marinakis wants Lois Openda to join Nottingham Forest instead of Leeds in the coming months.

The Juventus forward is heading for the exit door in Turin just one, disappointing year after he completed a move worth €40m (£35m), and whilst it was Leeds on red alert having made contact and even preparing a bid, Forest have since come storming into the race.

Marinakis and the Midlands club reportedly believe they can revive the forward and could get one over on their Premier League rivals in the process.

£35m Openda could replace Chris Wood

Nottingham Forest suffered for several reasons this season, but the biggest reason was Chris Wood’s absence. Without the forward, who spent much of the campaign sidelined, they missed out on a consistent goalscorer in the face of a hectic workload in both Europe and the Premier League.

Whilst Wood is now back to full fitness, his injury handed Pereira a glimpse of what’s to come. The New Zealand international is now 34 years old and gradually edging closer to retirement, handing Forest a problem that they may solve by signing Openda.

Despite struggling at Juventus, it’s worth noting just how much the Belgian thrived at RB Leipzig and that’s the version of him that Forest would be desperate to unlock.

It may not be a deal that breaks the bank for Marinakis, either. Juventus could even sanction a loan move for Openda if they fail to cash in at the right price, handing Forest a major boost.

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