EXCLUSIVE: Nottingham Forest still want Jose Sa as Nuno eyes Turner upgrade

Steve Kay

• 5 Jan 2024 05:00 CST
• 3 min read

Exclusive

Nottingham Forest are again interested in signing Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Jose Sa, FootballTransfers can reveal.

New head coach Nuno Espirito Santo is keen to add his compatriot as an upgrade on former Arsenal shot-stopper Matt Turner, who has made several high-profile mistakes this season, especially with the ball at his feet.

Though Santo left Wolves to manage Tottenham several weeks before Sa arrived at the Midlands club in 2021, we have been told that he was instrumental in the 30-year-old's arrival, along with Bruno Lage, his replacement in the Wolves dugout.

The Portuguese international was recommended to Nuno by former scouts of Porto when at Wolves. Sa already played under Santo in Portugal and now, according to our source, the latter wants to bring him to his new club.

Wolves need to sell

Interestingly, Sa already rejected Forest in the summer - several months before Santo arrived at the club - to sign a new contract at Wolves. However, we are told that this was not necessarily due to a firm conviction in the project.

At the time, Wolves were looking to sign as many players to extended contracts as possible with a view to eventually getting more money for them when they are sold.

Wolves are now struggling to bring in players permanently in January because they are heavily impacted by Financial Fair Play, therefore they may be forced to sell some high-profile players to be able to strengthen their squad.

Wolves have already had to sell some €170 million in players. 11 stars departed the club in the summer permanently to fend off the threat of sanctions for breaking the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules. Unfortunately, they still need to sell to buy.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ ownership group Fosun had at one point reportedly racked up debts of $40 billion (€37bn) amid growing scrutiny on Guo Guangcha.