Nottingham Forest turned down an offer worth a potential £50m from Newcastle for winger Anthony Elanga on transfer Deadline Day, Sky Sports can reveal.
And that surprising, but emphatic, decision epitomises the ambitious strategy of the Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis.
With seven hours of the window remaining, Sky Sports News reported that Forest had rebuffed a £35m offer for the Swedish forward.
What was unknown until now is that Newcastle – desperate to strengthen and with £65m in their coffers after failing to land Marc Guehi – came back in with another, hugely increased bid.
The fact that Forest’s patriarch was prepared to walk away from such a deal for a player who they only bought last summer, and who only cost the club one third of Newcastle’s offer, is quite a statement.
In the process, Marinakis turned down one of the new super-rich clubs in English football – one he wants to be competing with on an equal footing in the future.
It’s a decision that will surprise many. Indeed, many Forest fans might wonder whether Elanga is worth that kind of money and whether, after last season’s points deduction for breaching PSR rules, it was prudent for Forest to look the Geordie gift horse in the mouth.
But it was Marinakis’ call, and his alone. He made the decision for a variety of important reasons.
Firstly, Elanga has done a great job for Forest. Five goals and nine assists last season – when they were battling relegation for much of the campaign – is testimony to that.
Secondly, the deal would have happened so late in the window, it would have been almost impossible for Forest to replace him.
Thirdly – and equally as important as the previous two reasons – Marinakis knew just how important Elanga has become to the squad ethos and unity.
That is something Nuno Espirito Santo believes is very important. A squad that is tight – both metaphorically and numerically – one that has a strong bond and a positive atmosphere.
Elanga is at the very heart of that squad unity, and so Marinakis’ resolve was to refuse any temptation to sell him now in order to maintain that wider positivity.
Nuno has literally changed the furniture at Forest’s training ground, expanding some of the social spaces to encourage the players to spend more time with each other off the pitch.
For him and for his Greek boss, the Elanga-sized hole that would have been left in the squad had he been sold was worth much more than £50m.
When it comes to incomings, Forest fans may be bemoaning the failure to bring a new striker to the City Ground. But Sky Sports has been told Nuno didn’t feel he needed another striker and told Marinakis as much.
That is why Forest stepped away from a deal worth more than £25m for Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush, with only hours of the window remaining.
Those players that did come in were carefully selected and pursued. James Ward-Prowse’s character, experience and downright ability meant his loan move from West Ham was a no-brainer for Ross Wilson, Forest’s sporting director, and ultimately for Marinakis.
The feeling was that, whilst his brilliant set pieces would only add to Forest’s options on the pitch, his popularity and engaging personality off it could equally only enhance the group.
Marinakis felt similarly about the Brazilian centre-back Morato, bought for £15m from Benfica.
Wilson said in his welcome statement that the club had been pursuing him “for several windows”. That keenness was based on him having the right footballing attributes, of course, but also on him having the right attitude and character to enhance the group.
The fact that Morato is Portuguese-speaking – like so many of the Forest players and, of course, the manager – was no accident.
Nor was the fact that Forest already have another brilliant Brazilian defender in Murillo. The expectation is that the pair will form a strong bond, both on and off the pitch, which will bring out their mutual best.
Forest’s Greek owner has been criticised at various times over the last two seasons for what some felt was a “scatter-gun” approach to transfers. The sheer numbers of new recruits in the first few transfer windows following Forest’s promotion seemingly gave ammunition to those critics.
But the truth is that each transfer was carefully calculated and decided, even those that were done in the latter hours of the window. That is when Marinakis feels there is often best value for money – and yes, his ruthless business instincts love the poker game that is deal-making at the final hour.
But he has definitely played some blinding hands. Look at £13.7m for the previously-mentioned Murillo, or Callum Hudson-Odoi, who cost less than £5m.
Not every transfer can be a success, of course. And on Deadline Day this time, Forest managed to get Matt Turner, Josh Bowler and Alex Mighten off the wage bill. They moved on a staggering 30 players in total during the summer window.
With all the ins and outs, Marinakis and Nuno are both delighted with the business that was done. Neither is expecting a relegation battle this season. In fact, having brought European success to his other footballing love, Olympiakos, Marinakis is now targeting similar glory for Forest in the coming years.
Nottingham Forest ins and outs
In
Elliot Anderson – Newcastle, £35m
James Ward-Prowse – West Ham, loan
Morato – Benfica, £15m
Eric da Silva Moreiro – St Pauli, £1.3m
Nikola Milenkovic – Fiorentina, £12m
Carlos Miguel – Corinthians, undisclosed
Marko Stamenic – Red Star Belgrade, undisclosed
Shea Cahill – Brisbane Roar, free
Jota Silva – Vitoria Guimaraes, £10.1m
Ramon Sosa – Talleres de Cordoba, undisclosed
Alex Moreno – Aston Villa, loan
David Carmo – Porto, undisclosed
Out
Alex Mighten – San Diego, undisclosed
Matt Turner – Crystal Palace, loan
Remo Freuler – Bologna, £3.4m
Jamie McDonnell – Colchester, loan
Orel Mangala- Lyon, £20m
Moussa Niakhate – Lyon, £27m
Brandon Aguilera – Rio Ave, undisclosed
Julian Larsson – Burton, undisclosed
Odysseas Vlachodimos – Newcastle, undisclosed
Henry Lister – Hearts, free
Kevin Adueni – Released
Harry Arter – Released
Felipe – Released
Tony Gbopo – Released
Wayne Hennessey – Released
Ethan Hull – Released
Ateef Konate – Released
Cheikhou Kouyate – Released
Loic Mbe Soh – Released
Scott McKenna – Released
Elijah Morgan – Released
Theo Robinson – Released
Esapa Osong – Rotherham, loan
Jonathan Panzo – Rio Ave, loan
Marko Stamenic – Olympiakos, loan
Lewis O’Brien – Los Angeles FC, loan
Omar Richards – Rio Ave, loan
Joe Worrall – Burnley, undisclosed
David Carmo – Olympiakos, loan
Josh Bowler – Preston, loan