Hwang Ui-jo to join Nottingham Forest with possible loan to Olympiacos: Reports

Hwang Ui-jo [AFP/YONHAP]

Hwang Ui-jo’s chance to leave struggling Ligue 2 club Bordeaux appears to have finally arrived, but likely not in the form the Korean striker had been hoping for.

According to multiple reports on Tuesday night, both Bordeaux and Hwang are set to accept an offer from Premier League club Nottingham Forest, despite knowing that there is a very real chance Hwang might be loaned to Greek club Olympiacos without getting the chance to set foot in the Premier League.

Forest will reportedly pay 4 million euros ($4 million) for Hwang with an extra 1 million euros in incentives, a low price for the top scorer of a top-tier club last season, but one that has looked increasingly inevitable as Bordeaux’s financial problems have essentially forced the club to sell him, and quickly.

Hwang has been looking for a way out of Bordeaux since the club was demoted and went into financial administration within the space of a couple of months. The club's financial woes complicated a possible move, making Bordeaux desperate to sell and encouraging other clubs to try and lowball an offer.

The possible Nottingham Forest deal has been on the cards for a couple of weeks, but had been widely dismissed because Hwang made it clear that he hopes to play in the Premier League and the Forest deal has always included the caveat that he is likely to be shipped off to Greece.

That Hwang could be sucked into the Nottingham Forest whirlpool has always been a possibility, if for no other reason than that the newly-promoted club seems determined to sign literally everybody this summer.

Forest have so far signed at least 17 players, and are linked to a handful more. The club has spent over £140 million ($165 million) in the transfer window so far, an amount that is said to be more than the club has spent throughout its entire 157-year history before this season. Whether that is true or not, it’s certainly more than the entire Dutch top-tier spent in this summer.

With essentially an entirely new squad in place at a team that was playing in the Championship four months ago, new signings, potentially like Hwang, can easily get sidelined. Sentimentality and loyalty are unlikely to play much of a role at a club that immediately abandoned the entire team that got it promoted, so signing Hwang on unfavorable terms and then loaning him out immediately does seem likely.

Forest is owned by Greek media mogul Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Olympiacos. If Hwang Ui-jo is loaned to the Greek club, he will be reunited with national team midfielder Hwang In-beom, who joined the club earlier this summer.

Hwang has long been a transfer rumor favorite and even before relegation, was often suggested as an easy way for Bordeaux to make some much needed money.
In the summer of 2021, Hwang, who had been Bordeaux's top scorer in the 2020-21 season with 12 goals, was linked to clubs across Europe, with a last-minute deal with either an unnamed wealthy Russian club or Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon apparently falling through in the dying hours of the transfer window.

In January, Hwang was again expected to make a move, although a flurry of goals — including a hat trick against Strasbourg on January 23 — effectively closed that window.

This summer, he has been linked to multiple moves within France and further overseas.

While no official announcement on a Nottingham Forest move has been made as of press time, Hwang is said to be in England for a medical. But with European leagues now entering the most frenzied signing period with just a week left of the transfer window, there remains a chance that another club could sweep in to try and steal Hwang before he signs on the dotted line.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]