Marseille chief attends Nottingham Forest game as left-back deal accelerates
Marseille chief Federico Balzaretti was on a scouting mission as Nottingham Forest faced Utrecht in the Europa League last Thursday.
Forest beat Utrecht 2-1 in the Netherlands as Igor Jesus scored a late winner following Arnaud Kalimuendo’s opener and Mike van der Hoorn’s leveller.
Sean Dyche‘s side are 11th in the Europa League as it stands, while their recent uptick in form has seen them move five points away from the Premier League relegation zone right now.
Some January business is set to be on the agenda, despite their expensive summer window, with Forest tracking Hibernian’s Josh Mulligan ahead of a possible approach.
Dyche may well allow some players to leave to trim his bloated squad too, with Marseille potentially eyeing a Reds player as they watched Souffian El Karouani during last week’s clash with Utrecht.
Marseille scouted Utrecht’s Souffian El Karouani against Forest
Foot Mercato journalist Sebastien Denis has reported that Marseille’s assistant sporting director Balzaretti attend the match between Forest and Utrecht to watch the hosts’ left-back El Karouani.
Marseille are known to be interested in his signature, and they will have been impressed by his performance as he picked up an assist from a free-kick for Van der Hoorn’s equaliser in the second-half.
The 25-year-old has played 96 times for the Eredivisie side since a 2023 move from NEC, while he has made five appearances for the Moroccan national team in the last four years.
He has picked up an incredible 15 assists in 27 appearances across all competitions from left-back this season, while also chipping in with three goals.
Forest to focus on keeping hold of Elliot Anderson in January
Forest will likely have also been impressed by El Karouani last week, but they are not particularly in need of a new left-back addition with Neco Williams and Oleksandr Zinchenko both battling it out there right now.
While they could have some signings in the pipeline, Forest’s January efforts are set to be solely focused on making sure Anderson is still their player after the deadline.
Man City want to sign Anderson in January as they look to sell some fringe players to make a deal happen, but it is imperative that the Reds keep hold of him until at least next summer, given his importance to the club.
The England star has been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League in 2025-26, and his price tag could increase even further if he impresses at the World Cup with England before leaving the City Ground outfit.