As West Ham United aim to follow up Soungoutou Magassa’s likely arrival with a loan deal for Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahim Sangare, the response from one City Ground reporter neatly summed up his time in the Premier League.
Paul Taylor, writing on social media, admits that a midfielder who joined Forest in a £30 million deal from PSV Eindhoven back in 2023 clearly possesses plenty of ‘genuine quality. But – partly through injury and misfortune – he’s not consistently shown [his talent].’
West Ham United, then, may be getting themselves someone with a point to prove.
But that is a point the Forest faithful are hoping to see proven in Garibaldi red, rather than claret and blue.
Just one day after West Ham closed in on Monaco’s Soungoutou Magassa – ironically beating Nuno Espirito Santo’s side to the France Under-21 powerhouse – Fabrizio Romano reported that Nottingham Forest have rejected an initial loan offer from the London Stadium outfit for Sangare.
Sangare was first linked with West Ham as many as three years ago, when the now-27-year-old was establishing himself as the leggy lynchpin of PSV’s midfield.
Now, with Graham Potter desperate to add some power, aggression and a dash of line-breaking distribution, the Hammers appear keen to take a very-belated punt despite Sangare’s injury-interrupted spell in the East Midlands.
Forest’s rejection shoves his suitors back to the drawing board, however, as well as being music to the ears of the City Ground fanbase.
Nottingham Forest fans react as West Ham United make Ibrahim Sangare offer
Sangare has started both of Nottingham Forest’s Premier League matches this season, to pretty good effect. He tops the club’s charts for interceptions after matchday two, while completing 90 per cent of his passes so far.
If Soungoutou Magassa has shades of Moises Caicedo in his Brighton pomp, as the stats suggest, then Sangare may be another capable of contributing what Potter needs in and out of possession.
Romano adds that Forest may be tempted to consider a permanent, up-front sale. But after watching Sangare stand-out against both Brentford and Crystal Palace, and with that Europa League run set to test the limits of Nuno’s squad, the feeling is that Forest would be letting Sangare go just as he’s starting to make his mark.
“Don’t want him to leave,” one fan writes on X response to those West Ham links. “He deserves his place in our squad this season.
“Sangare has to stay. We’ve only just got him back through everything he’s gone through. Why release him at his best? I think he would especially thrive in European competition, which we need. Madness.”
“I want to see Sangare given minutes against European sides, where he will get more space to operate. I reckon he will absolutely slap. No upside to strengthening a Premier League rival unless we’re selling to balance the books. Has to stay!”
Forest fans fear Juventus loanee Douglas Luiz cannot replace Sangare
Those playing devil’s advocate may argue that Forest are in a position to sell and move on now that they have Douglas Luiz in the building.
After West Ham backed away from the Juventus loanee due to his hefty wages, according to the Daily Mail, Luiz returned to English football last week.
Yet, while he is capable of playing in Sangare’s favoured deep-lying role, Douglas Luiz hit a new level at Aston Villa when pushed forwards ahead of Boubacar Kamara.
“[It would] be completely bonkers if we let him leave now,” another fan adds.
“So many midfield options? We have [the attack-minded Elliot] Anderson and Luiz. We can’t let Sangare go unless we have a replacement already done.”
“Sangare has looked class lately. I would be very hesitant to loan him out. We have European football, there’s space for him and Dougie.”
“The lad is finally coming into form. I am all about Luiz, but we need Sangare. In no way does this make sense.”
“Please nobody compare Sangare and Luiz. They’re totally different players and only one of them has had a pre-season. Sangare is something completely different to the rest of our midfield and has good European experience. Look after the lad.”
“I would be disappointed to see Sangare go, particularly before we’ve had a look at Luiz. I understand that he hasn’t hit the heights of what’s expected defensively, but his forward passing and recoveries were just starting to catch the eye and he’s on a strong upward trajectory.”
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