Forest’s Survival Gamble: An Audacious £35m Mateta Raid and Tying Down Neco Williams
Nottingham Forest are desperately trying to inject some life into a bruising 2025-26 campaign, and they’ve set their sights squarely on Crystal Palace’s wantaway striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. With Chris Wood stuck in the treatment room following knee surgery, Forest are crying out for attacking reinforcements and are heavily pushing for a £35m package before the deadline shuts. It’s a move that feels like rubbing salt in the wound for a Palace side currently bleeding key figures. Having already waved goodbye to Marc Guehi this month—and burdened with the looming reality that gaffer Oliver Glasner is walking away at the end of the season—losing the 28-year-old France international right now would be a massive hit to take.
Getting this deal over the line, though, is going to be an incredibly knotty affair. There is absolutely no love lost between these two clubs. Relations completely tanked after Forest effectively nicked the FA Cup winners’ hard-earned Europa League spot, a fiasco sparked when Forest flagged concerns to UEFA regarding John Textor’s multi-club ownership setup. Textor held a 43 per cent stake at Selhurst Park whilst also functioning as the majority owner of Lyon. Feuds aside, just glancing at the Premier League table makes this transfer look like a logistical nightmare. Forest are languishing in 17th, sitting a nervy five points and one place above West Ham in the drop zone. Palace are hardly out of the woods themselves in 15th, just three points better off. Selling a marquee forward to a direct relegation rival borders on corporate self-sabotage.
From the player’s camp, Mateta has made no secret of his desire to pack his bags. AC Milan already chanced their arm with a bid that fell flat, and word is the Frenchman is holding out for a destination that can offer him nights in the Champions League. That makes the City Ground a slightly bizarre prospect on paper. Still, money talks, and Forest are apparently ready to chuck a highly lucrative offer his way to try and turn his head.
While they’re plotting that audacious swoop up top, Forest are frantically trying to bolt the back door shut and lock down their prized assets. According to Fabrizio Romano, the club are deep into advanced talks to hand Neco Williams a hefty long-term extension, and an agreement is supposedly imminent. The Welshman was an absolute revelation on the pitch, rightfully bagging Forest’s Player of the Season accolade after a stellar 2025/26 run. Unsurprisingly, that form has the big boys sniffing around—Aston Villa, Newcastle, Manchester United, and Everton have all registered interest. Even though he only penned fresh terms last year to keep him in Nottingham until 2029, his sheer versatility on either flank has made him undroppable for head coach Vitor Pereira. Securing his signature again would be a massive statement of intent for a lad who has racked up 160 appearances since his £17m switch from Liverpool back in the summer of 2022.
The boardroom is evidently busy churning through the paperwork. Centre-half Murillo was rewarded with improved terms just last month, tying him down until 2030, and the midfield duo of Ibrahim Sangare and Nicolas Dominguez are tipped to be next in line for upgrades before their current 2028 deals tick down.
It paints a picture of a club aggressively backing its squad, which makes the managerial situation all the more curious. Talks over a new contract for Vitor Pereira have been quietly shoved to the back burner until the new campaign kicks off. He’s got barely 12 months left on the deal he signed when he rocked up in February, with discussions late last season paused simply because the timing felt off. You have to wonder what that means for the long-term vision on the touchline, even as the powers that be continue to splash the cash on the pitch.
