Sources: Stefan de Vrij makes transfer decision after Nottingham Forest offer

Panathinaikos have beaten Nottingham Forest to the signing of veteran centre-back Stefan de Vrij, sources have told Football Insider.

The Greek side has reached a full agreement with the 34-year-old after he accepted their offer of a one-year deal, plus the option of an additional 12 months.

In comparison, Forest only offered the Netherlands international a straight one-year deal.

On top of this, the enticement of European football at Panathinaikos, plus the guarantee to play week in week out at the club, have helped de Vrij come to his decision.

The defender became a free agent at the end of the 2025-26 campaign after he decided not to extend his contract with Inter Milan.

Forest had long been linked to de Vrij, but will now have to move on to other targets ahead of the 2026-27 season.

Stefan de Vrij failure massive blow to Nottingham Forest

Forest will be determined to clog up their leaky defence this summer and de Vrij could have gone a long way to making this happen.

The defender’s quality and experience would have no doubt made him one of the best players at the club, and he could have gone on to have a massive impact in the dressing room.

The fact that he still played eight games for Inter Milan last season in the Serie A, eight of which he started, just shows how much of a loss this transfer failure will be for Forest.

Now, Vitor Pereira will be looking to move on from this saga as quickly as possible as he looks to put together a side capable of marching back up the Premier League table for the 2026-27 season.

What other centre-backs are Forest linked with?

In recent weeks, Nottingham Forest have been heavily linked with Roma defender Jan Ziolkowski.

A deal is reportedly likely to be completed, despite the two clubs being far apart in their current valuation of the 21-year-old this summer transfer window.

Ziolkowski made 18 Serie A appearances last season, but only started in five of these matches.

However, it remains to be seen if Forest up their pursuit of the defender now that they cannot secure the signature of de Vrij this summer transfer window.