Club accept Nottingham Forest move was a ‘fiasco

Spanish side Almeria have accepted that their decision to sign Arvin Appiah in a record deal five years ago from Nottingham Forest was a ‘fiasco’.

That’s according to Diario de Almeria, who cover the player today and how he’s struggling to impress with Rotherham.

The newspaper explains that Almeria have long since given up on seeing any profit or benefits from the deal for Appiah, who they signed from Nottingham Forest for €8.8m in 2019.

He was the first big show of intent from owner Turki Al-Sheikh, who did not hesitate to pay the fee and make him the most expensive signing in the history of the Spanish second division.

They believed Appiah was the ‘new pearl of English football’ but five years later Al-Sheikh’s ‘whim’, he personally insisted they make the transfer happen, has become ‘the most ruinous operation’.

While Almeria have a strong history of signing strikers and selling them on at a major profit, such as Darwin Nunez, Sadiq Umar and El Bilal Toure, that won’t be the case with Appiah.

Instead, his value has been ‘continuously depreciating’ and that’s continued at Rotherham United, who he joined on loan last summer but has barely played for.

Indeed, the belief is that he is on the path to being ‘permanently lost to football’ and Almeria have already accepted that the whole deal to get him from Nottingham Forest was a ‘fiasco’. They have long since swallowed the fact they overpaid and will lose a considerable amount of money on the player.