Igor Jesus could have ended up at Ipswich Town before his Nottingham Forest move, and John Textor says the Championship club were the only side that actually tried to make it happen.
Speaking to Brazilian reporters, the Botafogo owner detailed how Ipswich Town submitted the sole formal offer for the striker, even though he expected broader interest at the time.
Textor said the player turned the move down. He stated: “We only had one offer, from Ipswich. But he did not want to leave.” He added that the proposal arrived when the team were “close to relegation”, which influenced the forward’s decision.
The executive defended the £10m fee involved. He stressed that the valuation reflected medical concerns rather than talent. “He arrived with no transfer cost because he had two serious knee injuries,” he said.
He argued that clubs hesitated after reviewing the scans, even though the striker later performed at a high level in the Premier League. “You feel stupid when he becomes the best player on the pitch against Liverpool. But his injury history was the main reason we did not receive more.”
Textor said the Ipswich Town offer became a reference point for the negotiations that followed. He claimed the club expected another proposal from the Tractor Boys, given the quality Igor Jesus later showed, but it never came.
He then ended up going to Nottingham Forest, with Textor’s relationship with Evangelos Marinakis obviously helping.
Ipswich’s attempt ended there, but the episode now looks different given the player’s impact in England.
