Why Ndoye was never going to Napoli for Nottingham Forest price | OneFootball

Everything we wrote three days ago is confirmed, specifically that Napoli had no intention of going beyond their €35m plus €5m add-ons offer, so Nottingham Forest swooped for Bologna forward Dan Ndoye.

The deal on the table is over €40m fixed fee, rising even more with bonuses, and that was enough to get it over the line for the Premier League club.

As we had stated last week, any reports of a Napoli proposal at €45m were simply part of the storytelling process.

Ndoye knew Napoli had set their limit

epa12016572 Bologna’s Dan Ndoye (R) and Napoli’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo in action during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Bologna FC and SSC Napoli, in Bologna, Italy, 07 April 2025. EPA-EFE/SERENA CAMPANINI

Napoli came to a halt with their bid of €35m plus €5m in add-ons, because despite having agreed personal terms with the player weeks ago, they were not prepared to raise that any further.

The Partenopei were true to their word and did not budge from that figure.

If they had really offered €45m, then an agreement with Bologna would’ve been reached very quickly, but it was never on the cards.

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 23: Raheem Sterling of Arsenal reacts during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Crystal Palace FC at Emirates Stadium on April 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Now Napoli are going to evaluate every avenue on the horizon, as we already confirmed direct contact with Chelsea for Raheem Sterling, a few other names have already been evaluated and cut from the list.

We will see how things develop, but Ndoye has gone entirely according to our predictions.