Nottingham Forest's hopes of re-signing Filip Krovinovic have been dealt a blow after the player completed a move to Hajduk Split.

The Croatian midfielder has spent the last 18 months in England after moving to West Bromwich Albion on season-long loan deal from Benfica in 2019, before completing a similar deal again last summer.

However after struggling to hold a place in the Baggies' first XI in the Premier League last term the 25-year-old made the move to Forest during the January transfer window that saw him play for Chris Hughton's side in the second half of the season.

After making 19 appearances during a loan spell, reports suggested that Forest were looking to bring him back to the club on a permanent basis, however it seems that his future has been decided after finalising his move to the Croatian top flight club.

Speaking to the Hajduk Split website, as quoted by the Birmingham Mail, Krovinovic said: "I finally came, I am very happy about it, everyone welcomed me warmly from the first second and thank you for that.

“I am looking forward to trainings, matches, I have received a lot of messages from Hajduk fans in the past month.

“There were really beautiful words, nice messages, I tried to read them all. I am really happy that my arrival means so much to the fans, and I can only promise that I will try to bring it back on the field with the same measure.”

 

 

The verdict

This is a big blow for Nottingham Forest.

Filip Krovinovic showed real signs of promise during his loan spell with Nottingham Forest, while also putting in some very impressive displays for West Brom.

However it seems that a move back to England just wasn't right for the 25-year-old who has moved back to his native Croatia.

The hope for Krovinovic now will be that he can start to build up his career once again after finding a home.