Nottingham Forest would be willing to pay close to the asking price for Brazilian youngster Pablo Maia, it has been claimed.
The Reds have been linked with the Sao Paulo midfielder ahead of the January transfer window. But they could face competition from Premier League rivals Fulham, who have seemingly stepped up their pursuit of the highly-rated 20-year-old.
The Cottagers reportedly had an initial bid of 7.5m euros (roughly £6.5m) turned down, with that figure falling some way short of the 10m euros (£8.7m) price tag placed on Maia’s head. But reports in Brazil suggest they have “made a new attempt” to sign the player and “negotiations continue”.
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Nevertheless, Brazilian media outlet BOLA VIP claim Forest “would be willing to pay very close” to Sao Paulo’s valuation of their young talent. And there is the potential for him to be sold in January but return to the Brazilian side on loan for six months.
English teams are said to have been keeping tabs on Maia since August, when he starred in the Sao Paulo Junior Cup - Brazil’s biggest youth tournament. He has gone on to make the step up to his team’s senior side, racking up regular minutes this season.
Forest made 22 signings during the summer transfer window as they prepared for life in the Premier League. But it has taken time for the group to gel, and since then there has been a reshuffle behind the scenes, with recruitment duo George Syrianos and Andy Scott axed.
Filippo Girladi has been brought in as sporting director. And head coach Steve Cooper has talked about the importance of having a joined-up approach throughout the club.
Quizzed on whether a united way of thinking is important when it comes to planning for the January transfer window, the Welshman recently said: “And long-term planning - mid, short and long-term planning. If you have a look at any successful, achieving organisation there is a real alignment from top to bottom.
“There are some really good examples of that in clubs in the Premier League that have maybe had a similar journey to us, of coming from the Championship and looking to build.
“There are some really good examples out there. It would be great for us to be another one.
“But we have got a lot of work to do. We are finding that on a daily basis in the Premier League. Strategic planning is always a good thing.”
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