Nottingham Forest 'agree deal' for Lyon star Malick Fofana but face serious competition

Olympique Lyonnais, eager to quickly raise funds to remain in Ligue 1, have reportedly reached an agreement to sell Malick Fofana.

Following OL’s relegation to Ligue 2 confirmed by the DNCG, although the club has appealed the decision, Fofana quickly re-emerged on the radar of several teams. Eleven suitors have been identified for the 20-year-old Belgian winger in recent days, including Chelsea and Liverpool.

One of them has taken action. Fabrizio Romano reports that the French club has agreed to sell the player to Nottingham Forest. The English club has close ties with Lyon in the transfer market, which likely helped facilitate the deal.

??? EXCL: Nottingham Forest have agreed deal with Olympique Lyon for Malick Fofana… but no agreement yet on player side.

Fofana, waiting for Champions League clubs with Chelsea still keen on the player.

Understand Bayern and Napoli have also called to make initial approach. pic.twitter.com/dp8XtwDP9x

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 1, 2025

Bayern Munich and Napoli join the race

However, this does not mean the deal is finalised yet. For now, the Belgian international has not given his consent to join the Premier League side. Nottingham Forest just completed a strong season, finishing seventh and qualifying for the Europa Conference League playoffs.

Fofana is taking his time before responding to Nottingham and is hoping for an offer from a Champions League-qualified club, such as Chelsea. This could happen soon, as according to the same source, two European heavyweights qualified for the Champions League, Bayern Munich and Napoli, have made initial approaches regarding this transfer. It should be noted that Lyon has drastically lowered its asking price for Fofana, now expecting between £38m and £42m.

This article was originally published on Top Mercato.