Marinakis walks away from Nott’m Forest transfer as swoop for Brazilian star now 100% off

Nottingham Forest will not pursue a move for a Corinthians midfielder when the January transfer window opens, despite the player being on their radar over the summer, with owner Evangelos Marinakis reportedly walking away from a potential deal.

Forest spent over £100million on new signings for Oliver Glasner over the summer, with the likes of Liam Delap, Ousmane Diomande, Daniel Muñoz, Gustavo Puerta and Gustavo Sá all arriving at the City Ground, although the latter duo were subsequently loaned out to Olympiacos.

Another player who was on their radar was Corinthians star André Luiz, with club scouts said to have been impressed with the 20-year-old talent.

As per Sport Witness, Forest made a €12m (£10.4m) offer for André in August, only for Corinthians to reject it and send back a counterproposal.

While there were plenty of discussions that followed, with intermediaries getting involved and discussions about different financial structures, ultimately the window closed without a deal being agreed.

However, the deal was not expected to be dead, despite the likelihood that André was staying at Corinthians until the end of the Brazilian season anyway, with reports in Brazil suggesting a January swoop was still on the cards.

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Brazilian star’s agent shuts down Forest move talk

The latest information for Brazil, though, has completely shut down any transfer for André, to Forest, especially after the player’s agent, Diogo Silva, says Forest and Marinakis ultimately “chose” Gustavo Puerta instead.

The Colombian midfielder joined Forest for €16m (£13.9m) from Spanish side Racing Santander before heading straight to sister club Olympiacos, who are also owned by Marinakis, on loan.

The Greek club had actually also been interested in André, with both operations clearly led by Marinakis.

Puerta actually plays in a similar position to André, and the latter’s agent claims that he is exactly why Forest have now pulled the plug on signing his client.

To that end, Corinthians are looking for new offers for André, potentially in January but more likely in the summer of 2027.

The report adds that England remains an attractive destination for the midfielder, with the Premier League seen as a good next step in his development.

André only recently returned to the Corinthians starting XI after recovering from a thigh injury and has scored five goals and laid on two assists from 37 appearances this season, starting 31 of those games.

Forest, meanwhile, are back in Premier League action on October 11 when they head to Crystal Palace.

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