Nuno Da Costa’s wages could prove a stumbling block to securing a Nottingham Forest exit this summer.
The striker is spending the season on loan at Caen, where he has been in a purple patch of form of late. He was crowned the club’s player of the month for March, having bagged three goals and an assist in four games.
The French outfit have an option to make his move permanent at the end of the campaign. However, president Olivier Pickeu has spoken about the challenges of getting any deal over the line.
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In an interview with Pickeu, Ouest-France say Da Costa is “ok to stay”. But they add “above all there is the obstacle of his salary, which is substantial in England, and which cannot be duplicated as it is in a French Ligue 2 club”.
Pickeu said: “Nuno is adored by the public, he has also become a real leader of (the) attack, of (the) group. He feels good here.
“We have to keep working on this file, but it's a good problem! Being able to keep the players you want while being within the nails of an L2 budget is the challenge. And the better we finish the season, the more the players will be comfortable, aware of the work being done, the more chances there will be to keep them.”
He added: "The best recruitment is to keep our major players to be able to build the project. But everything will have to be aligned and balanced: the sporting and financial validations, a will of these players too.”
Da Costa joined the Reds in January 2020 from Strasbourg but has made just 14 appearances in the Garibaldi, with his only goal for the club coming at the wrong end of the pitch. Last month, the forward said talks had begun with Caen about his future.
“There are negotiations between me and the Caen club,” he said. “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.
“Normandy is a region where I feel good. I told the president and the coach about it, we get on well. I know they are going to build a team to get something next year and in the years to come, it's an interesting project.
“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.”
