Nottingham Forest said to have agreement to sign attacker in January – €20m+ for winter move
According to a claim in the Turkish media, Nottingham Forest are looking to sign Galatasaray attacker Barış Alper Yılmaz when the transfer window reopens in the new year.
The Turkish international was linked with a move to the Premier League side this summer and there were claims of an offer.
Haber Aktuel today report on the latest developments regarding Forest’s pursuit of the 24-year-old, and they say the English club have an outline agreement with Galatasaray to sign the winger in January.
Gala are reportedly looking for a significant offer to sell one of their prized assets and it’s likely the player will be transferred for a fee of €20m plus. There were recent reports Nottingham Forest came in with a €25m offer before last month’s deadline.
West Ham United and Liverpool were also linked with Yılmaz during the last window following his performances for his country at Euro 2024. The two Premier League club reportedly held talks with the player’s agent.
He started 28 Super Lig games last season, scoring seven goals. Yılmaz is contracted to Galatasaray until June 2027.
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Johnson Forest return discussed as former teammate and manager rally in support
Former Nottingham Forest player Brennan Johnson has been the target of abuse with new club Tottenham Hotspur this week
These past days have been a whirlwind of extreme highs and lows for former Nottingham Forest favourite Brennan Johnson. From social media abuse to a match-winning goal – even shouts to come back to the City Ground – he has experienced it all.
£47.5m is a hefty transfer fee for someone just 22 years old at the time, if there isn’t already enough pressures on Premier League footballers to deliver. Strong doubters may have even commented it was a move correlating with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) rather than the talent of the individual, whose 10 goals and three assists as part of a relegation-threatened side the season before would serve to prove otherwise.
Regardless, his move was secured and a debut campaign in white resulted in a further five goals and 10 assists – steady progression for a youthful, new recruit. But now in the early weeks of the new term the former Forest talent has been a lightning rod for criticism in an underperforming Spurs side.
Sunday’s North London derby proved to be a breaking point. Hooked after 68 minutes, yet to add any sort of contribution in front of goal at that point since domestic football’s return, a torrent of online abuse followed. The result was Johnson deactivating his Instagram account to escape the noise.
“You’re talking about a young guy who is probably lacking a bit of confidence at the moment. Things haven’t gone his way, but he comes here every day, he’s working his backside off, he’s asking for feedback, he’s doing everything right, he’s trying so hard to become the player he wants to be, it’s hurting him a lot,” said his new manager, Ange Postecoglou, rallying behind his player.
“It’s not like he’s out on the town and he doesn’t care and he rolls up late. So what’s his crime? His crime is he isn’t performing at the level that people expect of him. As a professional footballer you’ve got to expect that you’re going to get criticism about that, that’s part of your growth. He’s still a young player and I think there is so much more of Brennan that we’re going to bring out in him.
“It’s sad for me that we’ve kind of normalised that stuff. That getting abuse, and it is abuse and a lot of it personal, is ‘oh well, that’s part of the territory’. I don’t see that.”
The next response was to not let the abusers’ activity diminish the Welshman’s role in the squad. Called upon when his side most needed it, facing an early exit from the Carabao Cup at Championship Coventry City, it was Johnson that found the net to complete an injury time turnaround and send his side through to the next round.
“It was really nice. It is a great feeling to score, especially so late on. Getting into the next round is really important and penalties are a toss of a coin, so getting my goal was very beneficial,” he told Sky Sports afterwards.
Postecoglou would add further support for his player, saying: “Hopefully [it will mean] a great deal. He’s a fantastic young man, a great player. I have a lot of time for him because he works so hard every day. He took his goal well tonight and he made a good impact.”
Those still at Forest who had the opportunity to play alongside Johnson can attest, especially countryman Neco Williams. He piled in with further support for his national teammate with the help of social media:
Though Forest supporters, perhaps hopeful more than anything, saw a different light on the situation unfolding in the Carabao Cup last night. “He looks so sad. They don’t deserve him at all,” said one supporter on X, witnessing the 23-year-old’s muted celebration in front of Spurs’ travelling fans following his heroics.
An entire discussion was prompted as a result. “Would bring him back, he’d fit our fast counter style,” said one responder, whilst another pleaded: “Come home Brennan.” These were common sentiments from the fanbase that witnessed the man in question develop from a boy in the Championship to a fully-fledged Premier League talent, yet there were those also adamant that chapter is finished.
Another reply read: “I hope it works out for him and they see the player we watched at Forest,” whilst another posed the question: “I would say bring him back but would he get into the team if he did?”
