French international midfielder Houssem Aouar may finally be closing on a move to the Premier League after years of speculation surrounding his future in France with boyhood club Olympique Lyonnais and interest from England.
But the 24-year-old Lyon native is not in line to get a long-awaited move to Arsenal after the Gunners have been linked with the Frenchman year-on-year, but potentially with promoted outfit Nottingham Forest according to reports from L’Équipe journalist Loïc Tanzi.
Première offre de N. Forest pour Houssem Aouar. En dessous de ce que l’OL demande, mais le joueur n’est pas fermé #Mercato https://t.co/NTZCJz7M2U
— Loïc Tanzi (@Tanziloic) August 10, 2022
Forest is said to have already made an opening bid for the €25m (£21m) rated versatile midfielder according to Tanzi, but their initial advance has been rebuffed by an OL that remains a notoriously difficult club to negotiate with during an open transfer market.
Despite resisting initial interest, OL does not appear to be standing in the way of Aouar’s departure given he has just one year remaining on his current deal, with Aouar reportedly open to considering Forest – though they may not be his first-choice destination – as an avenue to ply his trade in the Premier League.
Should Steve Cooper’s side complete a deal for the creative midfielder, it would be Forest’s thirteenth addition to the senior setup at the City Ground after climbing back up into the top flight of English football for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
Forest’s summer business has been headlined by deals for Taiwo Awoniyi, Neco Williams, Orel Mangala, Giulian Biacone, Moussa Niakhaté, Omar Richards, and a free transfer for Jesse Lingard, while already spending ~£80m on a massive recruitment plan to essentially upgrade almost the entire starting XI.
Though the club has recruited heavily, they still opened their 2022-23 campaign with a 2-0 loss away at Newcastle, with only Niakhaté, Williams, Lingard, and Henderson as the only summer signings included in the starting XI.
