Nottingham Forest have informed Eintracht Frankfurt that they have no intention of loaning out Arnaud Kalimuendo in the January transfer window. They, instead, want a €30m sale of the striker as they need the sale.
Kalimuendo returned to Nottingham Forest in the summer transfer window following a successful loan spell at the German club last season.
He made himself a fan favourite in Frankfurt and they tried hard to make the deal a permanent one. Their various efforts across the summer came to nothing, though.
Ultimately, Kalimuendo ended up staying at Nottingham Forest, reportedly because Oliver Glasner was keen to assess him for himself.
It seems the 24-year-old has been unable to impress the Austrian. To date, the striker has managed five appearances worth 110 minutes across all competitions. He spent the 3-1 win over Manchester City sat on the bench as an unused substitute.
His 60 minutes in the 2-0 loss to Leeds in the second round of the EFL Cup in August is the most minutes he’s managed this season. He’s not managed more than 25 minutes in any of his four Premier League appearances to date.
Another January loan
Another loan move in the January transfer window could make sense, but it seems Nottingham Forest have no plans to sanction a loan.
“The fact is that something is supposed to happen at Eintracht Frankfurt in the winter transfer window,” journalist Florian Plettenberg told Sky Germany.
“Arnaud Kalimuendo, who left a good impression during his short time at Eintracht, is high on the list. One would like to bring him back. But at the moment, that is very unrealistic for one reason.
“Nottingham Forest would still have a loan spot open, according to our information. But the goal of Forest, I also had contact with them yesterday, is actually the sale of Kalimuendo.
“They also already communicated this to Markus Krösche, for example, in the summer and they don’t want to shake on that position. He can leave, but Nottingham is currently envisioning a transfer fee of up to €30m for him.”
“Kalimuendo has 110 minutes of playing time in the season, five appearances, zero goals, zero assists, but the English need income.”
€30m asking price
€30m does seem a particularly unrealistic target for Nottingham Forest at this moment in time. They paid that figure in August last year, but he has hardly lived up to it since.
Since that point he’s scored two goals in 19 games for Nottingham Forest. And six goals and one assist in 19 games at Frankfurt is hardly worth €30m either.
Even Transfermarkt value him at €20m, so Nottingham Forest’s current valuation is €10m higher than that.
The obvious answer is that both sides meet in the middle. But the easiest route is not often the one taken in January transfer negotiations.
