Nottingham Forest: Reds make move to sign Filip Kostic
The Juventus star has been put in the shop window ahead of the final few weeks of the transfer window.
Nottingham Forest have made contact to ask about a deal for Juventus wide man Filip Kostic, but a new report has revealed that they aren’t the only club in the picture.
What position is Filip Kostic?
Kostic is naturally a left-sided midfielder who has plied his trade at the Allianz Stadium since last summer having moved there from Eintracht Frankfurt, and during his debut season, he was a regular feature of Massimiliano Allegri’s squad having made 33 starts from 38 games in the Serie A.
The Serbia international still has another three years to run on his contract with the Italian outfit, but having impressed with his high standard of performance during his opening campaign with the black and white stripes, he appears to have caught the eye of Steve Cooper and Evangelos Marinakis in the Midlands.
The Reds have so far lost Jesse Lingard, Jack Colback, Cafu and Braian Ojeda during the summer transfer window, so the club may need to enter the market to find some central reinforcements before September 1st, and if the following update is to be believed, the 30-year-old has been highlighted as an ideal candidate.
Are Nottingham Forest signing Filip Kostic?
According to TuttoMercatoWeb (via Sport Witness), Juventus have received an approach from a Premier League club to “request information” for Kostic, and it’s stated that “all clues lead” to it being Nottingham Forest.
The Reds are an “ambitious” team and have previously looked at the overseas market, and with their target earning €2.5m (£2.1m) per year, his salary would “not be a problem” to afford for Marinakis.
Juventus will “consider the possible sale” of their prized asset, and as it stands, it’s only the top-flight club and the Bundesliga’s Wolfsburg who are “in the picture” to secure his services.
How good is Filip Kostic?
Whilst Kostic is primarily a left midfielder, he’s much stronger in the attacking aspect of his game and has been dubbed “The King Of Assists” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, so should he put pen to paper, the talisman could bring a real threat to the final third for Nottingham Forest.
The Kragujevac native, who pockets £53k-per-week, last season racked up 11 goal contributions (eight assists and three goals) in 37 Serie A appearances, and it’s clearly evident that he’s a master at producing moments of quality for his fellow teammates.
The Nike-sponsored star whipped a total of 227 crosses into the opposition’s box and recorded 93 shot-creating actions over the course of the previous campaign, with both statistics being higher than any of his fellow teammates, as per FBRef, showing how much of a standout performer he is compared to his peers.
Kostic, who has the versatility to operate in six different positions over the grass, including three roles in the midfield and everywhere across the frontline, has even previously been personally recognised for his individual efforts after being named Eintracht Frankfurt’s Player of the Year for 2021/22, so it may prove to be a massive coup if Forest are successful in their pursuit to bring the player to the Premier League, and it looks as if they have made their first move.
