nottingham forest Monday brought an extremely eventful January transfer window to an end, with them also agreeing a secret exit that could be completed outside of deadline day.

Sean Dyche With his team sitting 17th in the table, reinforcements are desperately needed Premier League In the standings, they are only five points away from the relegation zone.

The Reds thought they had signed Jean-Philippe Matata from Crystal Palace after bidding £35m for the French striker.

Mata even wanted to transferwho seemed destined for the City Stadium before AC Milan hijacked the deal at the last second.

Then there was a dramatic twist on deadline day. Milan’s medical examination revealed a serious knee problem requiring surgery, which will require Mateta to be sidelined for three to four months, leading to an outright suspension for the Italian giants.

Forest have suddenly dodged a huge bullet and could be on the hook for £35m for a striker who needs immediate surgery.

Talk about a lucky escape but still without a second striker after signing Lorenzo Luka on loan from Napoli.

Relevant

Nottingham Forest have struck gold with the signing of Cooper, who is worth more than Engels

Nottingham Forest may have missed out on Arne Engels, but they’ve struck gold in another player.

their Chase Celtic midfielder Arne Engels Despite Forest’s tireless efforts on deadline day, it proved equally fruitless.

The Premier League’s struggling side launched three separate bids for the 22-year-old Belgian, which ultimately amounted to £25m (£20m plus £5m in add-ons).

Celtics reject all three offersmanager Martin O’Neill made it clear Engels wasn’t going anywhere.

The Scottish champions had previously rejected bids worth £14m and £17.3m before Forest’s final £25m deadline-day gamble fell through.

O’Neill joked he would only accept an offer of £100m, effectively closing the door on any potential deal. Celtic have no replacements and are not looking to weaken their squad while fighting on three fronts – the Scottish Premiership title race, the Scottish Cup and the Europa League.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the Crafty Trees though, as they did manage to secure deals for Luka, Manchester City’s Stefan Ortega and left-back Luka Netz.

They have also approved some departures, including at the last minute of deadlines, without advance notice.

Cuabano set to leave Nottingham Forest after Vasco da Gama deal

The Brazilian club actually had until March to sign players, but Vasco de Gama secured a loan deal for Nottingham Forest left-back Cuibano ahead of the English deadline.

The 22-year-old is now set to return to his homeland to play for Vasco. He made 48 appearances for Botafogo in 2025, including six goals and five assists in all competitions.

Journalist Vese Casagrande said the deal was “completed” and the transfer “finalized” with Cuabano set to fly to Vasco in the coming days.

Forest will receive a loan fee of £863,000 from Cuabano, and the deal also includes a purchase option of £8.5 million.

The South American may leave permanently and not feature for the club’s first team.

Relevant

After Netts: Nottingham Forest submit bid for better signing than Hackney

Nottingham Forest have increased their transfer business in the past few hours.