Nottingham Forest striker Nuno Da Costa has hinted at a permanent exit from the City Ground this summer, with discussions already taking place with his current loan club Caen about a deal following the 2021-22 season.
The Cape Verde international was loaned out to the French second tier club on transfer deadline day back in August, with Chris Hughton not seeing a future for him at the Tricky Trees.
Appearing 11 times in Ligue 2 for Caen, Da Costa has scored four times, all which came in the space of five matches, and it seems likely that they would want to bring the striker in on a more full-time basis at the end of the season.
Da Costa joined Forest in January 2020 from Strasbourg, playing 10 times without scoring in the second half of the 2019-20 campaign, and then he appeared just twice at the start of the following season before joining Belgian side Mouscron on loan.
Having briefly appeared in the EFL Cup earlier this season against Bradford City, Da Costa soon headed back to France and he has revealed that discussions have happened with the Caen management over him staying beyond this season, although he's waiting to see what Forest themselves want to do.
“There are negotiations between me and the Caen club,” Da Costa said in an interview with Malherbe - via the Nottingham Post.
“The problem is between the two clubs. Caen wants to keep me, but it's going to be difficult because I don't have too much information from Nottingham.
"I know they have changed coaches, it will depend on the preparation and what they want to do next year.
“With the money they put in to transfer me from Strasbourg, I don't think Nottingham can terminate my contract. Afterwards, you never know the English are sometimes a little crazy.”
The Verdict
It would be a real shock if Da Costa has any future whatsoever at the City Ground.
He's barely featured since signing two years ago having played under Sabri Lamouchi and Chris Hughton, but he's seemingly found a decent home, albeit temporarily, back in France.
It appears that with the signing of Sam Surridge from Stoke and Keinan Davis on loan, with that potentially becoming permanent in the summer, Forest have moved on and will likely look for new strikers again this summer.
With his deal running until 2023 according to the Nottingham Post, Forest may have to come to a settlement on Da Costa's contract in order for him to depart permanently but it would be a wage off the books at least.