By Monsurah Olatunji
Nigeria international Alex Iwobi has disclosed that he was close to joining Nottingham Forest in 2023 before a late turn of events led him to sign for Fulham instead.
The 28-year-old midfielder, who is enjoying a standout season at Craven Cottage with nine goals and five assists in 33 Premier League appearances, joined Fulham from Everton in a €25.7 million deal last September.
However, in a recent interview reported by Fulham Fan News, Iwobi revealed that Nottingham Forest had shown strong interest in signing him before the move to Fulham was finalized.
“There was interest. The main interest came from Nottingham Forest,” Iwobi said.
“The manager at the time called me and asked what I was thinking about joining.”
He added that Super Eagles teammate and Forest defender Ola Aina also reached out to help persuade him.
“Ten minutes later, Ola (Aina) has called me and he’s like, ‘Alex, you coming to Nottingham Forest? The manager just called me and said, persuade Alex.’”
Despite the push, Forest did not follow up with an official bid, and Fulham remained the only club to submit a formal offer.
“I could have been linking up with Ola, but eventually they didn’t put in a bid and only Fulham did, so that was that,” Iwobi said.
Iwobi has since emerged as a key figure in Marco Silva’s side and one of Fulham’s most consistent performers in the 2023/24 campaign.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
