Nottingham Forest’s supposed move for Luis Suárez is being comprehensively played down in Portugal, just hours after claims they had started the process of signing the Sporting striker.
Earlier on Tuesday, L’Equipe reported Forest were moving for the 28-year-old. The French newspaper suggested they had already “begun the process” of taking him to the Premier League.
At the time, we pointed out there was nothing coming from Portugal to back that up. But there certainly is now, and it goes very much in the opposite direction.
Both A Bola and Record have published updates dismissing the idea that Nottingham Forest are currently moving for Suárez.
A Bola add an important detail to explain why his name keeps appearing on the market: his agent, Fali Ramadani, is actively trying to find him another club.
So while the possibility of a late transfer shouldn’t be completely dismissed, there appears to be a big gap between that and Forest actually pursuing him.
No Forest contact – and Record go even further
A Bola say Sporting have received no proposal from Nottingham Forest. In fact, they haven’t even received an enquiry. That’s despite Tuesday morning’s report from France suggesting the English club had already started working on a deal.
Record are even stronger. They say they have learned there are currently no talks whatsoever between Nottingham Forest and Sporting. The newspaper also specifically states there is no English interest in the Colombian at this moment.
Portuguese journalist Sebastião Sousa-Pinto has backed that up separately, reporting Forest are not in talks with Sporting and that the expectation in Lisbon is for Suárez to remain this season.
Agent is trying to find him a move
That doesn’t mean all the transfer talk surrounding Luis Suárez is coming from nowhere. A Bola say Ramadani has been trying to place his client elsewhere.
That’s quite interesting after what has been a turbulent few months for the striker, as we explained some time ago. But Suárez has since started repairing some of that damage.
He returned to the starting XI against Alverca, and scored in Sporting’s 3-1 victory. A Bola say that helped ease some of the tension with supporters after he had previously received a mixture of applause and whistles.
All that good mood doesn’t mean Ramadani has stopped looking. A Bola believe more clubs could be linked with the striker before the deadline, just as Barcelona and now Nottingham Forest have been.
Sporting expect him to stay – but agent has time
Sporting’s position is now very clear. President Frederico Varandas addressed the situation on Sunday and publicly guaranteed Suárez would remain.
“To the disappointment of many people, Suárez will continue to be a Sporting player,” Record quote him as saying. “He is an exemplary professional and he will very much want – because I know – to continue being one.”
Suárez has a contract until 2030 and an €80m (£69m) release clause. Interestingly, A Bola say Sporting wouldn’t necessarily demand the full clause to sell him.
However, it would still take a very high offer in that sort of range for the club to even consider negotiating at this late stage. Nothing resembling that has arrived.
The newspaper say Sporting expect the end of the transfer window to finally bring some calm around Suárez and allow him to focus entirely on his football.
Their final point leaves a little door open. Sporting are waiting to see whether Suárez’s agent eventually turns up with an actual proposal, whether from Forest or another club whose door he has knocked on.
