New report says Gustavo Puerta is due in Nottingham for medicals before an Olympiacos loan, despite denial by Greek Side | OneFootball

Gustavo Puerta of Colombia competes for the ball with Alvaro Zamora of Costa Rica during the international friendly match between Colombia and Costa Rica at Estadio El Campin on June 01, 2026 in Bogota, Colombia. (Photo by Leonardo Castañeda/Getty Images)

There is no useful way to describe the Gustavo Puerta story anymore without acknowledging the contradiction at its center. Olympiacos say there is no agreement. South American reporters say the player is getting on a plane. Both cannot describe the same stage of the negotiation accurately. And that makes Monday potentially decisive. The original revival came from Pipe Sierra.

His report was specific enough: Evangelos Marinakis’ group had returned for Puerta, Nottingham Forest would acquire him, and Olympiacos would receive him on loan so he could play Europa League football. Olympiacos then pushed back.

Multiple Greek outlets reported essentially the same club position after midnight: there was no agreement for Puerta.

That reset the story. But now Pablo Oliveira has added operational detail. Not merely “there are negotiations.”

Not merely “Forest are interested.” He says Puerta is expected in Nottingham at 12:30 on Monday via chartered flight, with medicals and contractual formalities to follow before the Olympiacos loan.

That is a much more falsifiable claim.

This is now about evidence

Transfer reporting becomes significantly easier to evaluate once physical movement begins. If Puerta arrives in England today, the story changes immediately. If he undergoes a Forest medical, the club denial becomes very difficult to interpret literally. If he does not arrive, the credibility of the latest reports falls sharply. That is why today's monitoring should focus less on another anonymous article and more on concrete evidence:

airport arrival,

medical confirmation,

Forest registration,

Racing Santander communication,

or an official announcement.

The overnight denial may still have been technically accurate

There is also a possibility that both sides were describing different moments. Olympiacos said there was no agreement. That does not necessarily mean there were no discussions. It is possible that negotiations were still developing when the briefing was issued and reached a different stage afterward.

SPORT24 itself used relatively cautious language in relaying the club position, saying Olympiacos did not confirm either Puerta or Vargas rather than declaring the entire process impossible. So chronology matters.

A transfer can move rapidly in the final hours of a window.

The Forest structure solves the player’s original objection

The logic remains compelling. Puerta preferred Benfica. Evangelos Marinakis admitted that openly. Olympiacos had been willing to meet the €16 million clause, but the player did not view Greece as his preferred career destination. Signing for Forest changes that framing completely. Puerta would become the asset of a Premier League club. He could then spend the season playing regularly at Olympiacos. That gives him European football immediately while preserving a direct route into England later.

The sporting proposition becomes significantly more attractive without Olympiacos needing to change what they can offer on the field.

It also explains why Benfica’s delay matters

Benfica’s interest has always depended partly on movement in their own midfield. Portuguese and Greek reporting has linked Puerta’s arrival there to a possible departure involving Richard Ríos. That delay created room for another club to intervene.

Olympiacos had already demonstrated they were willing to meet the financial requirement. Forest potentially gives Marinakis a way to solve the remaining issue: Puerta’s preferred career pathway. That may be the leverage being used now.

From Olympiacos’ perspective, the trade-off is different

If Forest buys Puerta and loans him to Olympiacos, Mendilibar still gets the player. Sportingly, that may be enough. But Olympiacos would no longer directly own a potentially appreciating asset.

If Puerta has an outstanding Europa League season, Forest would hold the economic upside. That makes this less attractive from a standalone Olympiacos business perspective than the original €16m purchase.

But it may be the only mechanism capable of getting the player to Piraeus at all.

The next confirmation matters far more than another rumor

There is no reason to declare this completed. Not yet. The most reliable hierarchy remains: Olympiacos deny an agreement.

South American reporters describe a much more advanced transaction. The next real evidence should settle the dispute. If Puerta appears in Nottingham today, the move will have shifted from rumor to execution. If not, Olympiacos’ denial will remain the stronger evidence.

That is why this saga has now reached a genuinely verifiable stage.