£20m Nottingham Forest target endures miserable night against France

Nottingham Forest target Konstantinos Mavropanos endured a tough night as he was sent off for Greece against France.

Stuttgart defender Mavropanos was again linked with Forest over the weekend.

Sportime over in Greece reported that Forest have made first contact to try and sign Mavropanos and an initial offer is on the table.

It’s claimed that Forest have offered €10million (£8.5million) for Mavropanos, but Stuttgart want around €15million (£13million).

There isn’t a huge gap in those valuations and Forest may well return with an improved offer soon.

This comes after German news outlet Kicker reported that Forest tried a January move for Mavropanos.

That report suggested that Forest were willing to pay €20million (£17million) for Mavropanos, which seems a little rich.

Stuttgart have avoided relegation out of the Bundesliga but will still command decent money for the defender.

If Forest were watching Mavropanos on Monday night though, they may not have been too impressed…

Konstantinos Mavropanos endures nightmare Greece display

Few were really expecting Greece to win as they travelled to take on France.

Their cause wasn’t helped though as Mavropanos committed a crazy foul on France attacker Antoine Greizmann.

Griezmann was attacking a cross from Theo Hernandez when Mavropanos came flying in and kicked him in the head.

Mavropanos received a yellow card but was probably lucky to not receive a red for a wild challenge.

Kylian Mbappe scored from the spot at the second attempt after his saved effort was retaken.

Things went from bad to worse for Mavropanos as he bundled over Randal Kolo Muani on his way to goal.

Mavropanos was given his marching orders, leaving Greece to see out the final 20 minutes with 10 men.

This wasn’t the kind of night Mavropanos was hoping for, but Forest will surely judge him on an impressive body of work at Stuttgart rather than one night against France.

READ MORE

The latest Nottingham Forest transfer news as the defender has been a long-term target of the Reds.

Nottingham Forest will compete with French side Marseille for Besiktas defender Romain Saiss, according to reports.

The Reds have been long-time linked with the former Wolves defender, with Steve Cooper ’s side first reportedly showing an interest in the Moroccan back in the January window. It was claimed last week that Forest were preparing to make a £3.4 million bid for the player to bring him back to the Premier League.

But it seems that they have competition, with Marseille reported to be in advanced talks with both the player and Besiktas over a potential move. Saiss is said to want to join the French club this summer with discussions underway over a two-year contract.

However, it now seems that Forest will now provide competition to the Ligue 1 club for the player. According to Turkish outlet Turkiye Gazetesi , both Marseille and Forest will ‘sit at the table’ for Saiss this summer.

Besiktas are said to want at least €4 million for the player, but Marseille are only willing to offer €3 million. It’s something that could be a stumbling block to any potential move and could allow Forest to make their move for the player.

Saiss would bring Premier League experience to the City Ground, having spent six years with fellow midlands side Wolverhampton Wanderers. He completed a move to Besiktas last summer, but looks set to move in the current transfer window.

The 33-year-old has made a total of 387 career appearances. He was also part of the Morocco squad who reached the World Cup semi-final in Qatar.