“I would definitely say YES” – Nottingham Forest given hope of completing transfer by agent, €25m could be enough to seal move to City Ground

At the close of the week, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest were associated with Udinese centre-back Jaka Bijol.

Messaggero Veneto highlighted that the defender may have reservations about a switch to either side, as neither will be featuring in the Champions League.

Nonetheless, a glimmer of hope remains for both Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest in their pursuit of the Slovenian, who featured 34 times in Serie A during the 2024/25 campaign and consistently made an impact.

Italian representative Claudio Pasqualin has now spoken to Messaggero Veneto regarding Bijol’s future and suggested the Premier League might be a fitting landing spot for the player.

Pasqualin stated, while also mentioning Oumar Solet and Lorenzo Lucca: “It’s true that Lucca has the characteristics that Conte likes, but you can’t have everything in life.

“We’ll see. Solet has made a great impression and would also be good at Inter and Juventus, but in general there’s more money in the Premier League, so the target market for the two defenders doesn’t surprise me.”

When questioned whether a valuation of €25m could be sufficient for the Friulian club to offload Bijol, Pasqualin responded:

“I would definitely say yes, especially for Lucca, who can access a higher level in Serie A, and Solet, while for Bijol I have a few more reservations because the Slovenian has taken a few too many breaks.”

Pasqualin also shared his belief that Lucca, Bijol, and Solet will likely be transferred during the summer window.

“Given the ability of the Pozzos, I would say yes, even if they have never sold in a hurry. Haste, in this case, could make potential buyers procrastinate, influencing the negotiations, so I believe that the objective will be achieved, even if not easily and in a short time.”

Both Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest will be participating in European tournaments next season and because of that, they will need to strengthen their squads.

Bijol has now made nearly 100 appearances over three seasons for Udinese and has also demonstrated the capability to operate in midfield.

This indicates the 26-year-old could be a valuable acquisition for either of the two clubs, and a price of around €25m would be a fair amount to secure someone like Bijol.