0
Nottingham Forest reportedly “owe millions” in overdue payments to players and agents.
Mike Keegan (The Daily Mail) contends the club owes recently-departed players their bonuses for last season, including the “Premier League survival payments”, which should have been paid at the end of July.
Keegan asserts these have “failed to materalise.”
The report also indicates a number of agents, who have conducted business with Forest, are also “owed millions.” This cohort are now “considering legal action” which could see “winding up petitions” issued against the club.
The agents are reportedly waiting for “commission payments” on transfers they have helped to facilitate for Forest with their frustrations growing to such an extent they are willing to “escalate matters.”
Forest conducted a transfer frenzy in their attempt to make last season’s promotion to the Premier League their new permanent home. A staggering 30 players were signed over the course of the summer and winter windows with an agent intimately involved in each one of these deals.
Keegan reports the club have “declined to comment” with the hope being players, both current and former, will be paid at the same time at the end of the month. No word is given on the outstanding payments due to the various agents involved.
This may have significant repercussions for Manchester United, with the club hoping to finalise a deal with Forest for the permanent transfer of Dean Henderson.
Henderson spent last seaon on loan at the City Ground with the club keen to secure his services as their number one permanently. What had appeared a straight-forward transfer has, instead, become a protracted saga with both clubs at fault.
United were initially unwilling to let Henderson go, without a goalkeeping arrival first, despite Forest’s strong interest.
However, it’s now Forest who are expressing doubt over the move, indicating injury concerns as a source of concern and reportedly making concurrent enquiries about Arsenal goalkeeper, Matt Turner.
Forest would prefer an intial loan, with an obligation to buy, as their deal for Henderson. This preference had been attributed to their aforementioned injury concerns over the English goalkeeper, but may now be interpreted differently through the economic lens explicated by Keegan’s report.
A loan deal would enable Forest to operate with more financial flexibility in the current transfer window, as their obligation to buy would not kick in until later in the season. With the prospect of overdue payments needing to be imminently settled amidst the threat of legal action, Forest may need all the flexibility they can muster this summer.
Officials at Old Trafford will be keeping an attentive eye on the situation as United are keen to generate funds, through sales, for further reinforcements. Forest being hit with financial penalties may prove a significant blow to this process.
