26 goals last season 

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Nottingham Forest began their Premier League season with a 1-1 draw at home to Bournemouth on Saturday, with striker Chris Wood on the scoresheet. The New Zealand international has scored 12 goals in 17 Premier League games since manager Nuno Espirito Santo arrived at the club. However, the form of their frontman seems to have failed to deter the club from targeting another striker this transfer window, with Forest reportedly considering whether to make a fresh bid for Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez. According to The Athletic, Forest are yet to come close to the Dutch club’s asking price for Gimenez, after making an offer in the region of €25 million, which was not enough to tempt the Eredivisie side to consider selling the 23-year-old striker.

Gimenez is high on Forest’s list of targets as they look to bolster their forward options, although agreeing a deal may be difficult as the two clubs’ valuation of the player is far apart. As well as Wood, Forest also have Taiwo Awoniyi, although the Nigerian striker has suffered some frustrating injury issues since his €20m move from Union Berlin in June 2022.

Gimenez would undoubtedly be viewed as a centre-forward who could add further quality to Forest’s front-line. He scored 26 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions, including 23 in the league, as Feyenoord finished second to PSV last campaign. Back in January he was one of the hottest properties on the market, and was linked with a number of Europe’s top clubs, including Arsenal and Tottenham. Only 11 players in Europe’s top 10 leagues scored more league goals than Gimenez last term.

Kevin Lux is Transfermarkt’s Area manager in the Netherlands, and tells us more about Gimenez’s impact in the Eredivisie last season and his journey to becoming a star at Feyenoord, “I don’t think it is a sudden explosion in performance,” Lux said. “When he arrived at Feyenoord in 2022, he was used as a supporting option next to fellow striker Danilo. The Brazilian was first choice in European matches and Gimenez had to make do with being a substitute. When he came on, he scored lots of European goals in the few minutes he got.”

“Last season, though, he made the next step in his development, scoring 13 goals in the first nine matches was something the Eredivisie hasn’t seen yet this century.” But what makes Gimenez such a dangerous forward? “Gimenez is the type of striker that keeps the opponent’s defence busy,” Lux said while also once again highlighting his progression from the 2022/23 campaign. “His numbers for shots on goal per 90 minutes, fouls drawn, dribbles and key passes are all up from the previous season. Last season, he was the all-round leader in the Feyenoord attack, providing passes and even assists,” Lux added.