Nottingham Forest-linked striker Yuma Suzuki is said to have “blocked” a number of potential transfer options in the summer.
Reports suggested the Reds had agreed on a fee with Belgian outfit Sint-Truiden as they sought to bolster their forward options, only for a deal to fall through on deadline day.
They were not the only ones interested in securing Suzuki’s services, but the front man apparently wanted to move to a “top league”.
Belgian outlet Sport/Voetbalmagazine claim Suzuki had been keen on heading abroad for some time prior to the summer window, saying he had been “plotting his overseas road trip” after a move failed to materialise in January.
It is said Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Sporting Charleroi wanted to sign him, but the player had his sights set on leaving Belgium.
The report quotes an Anderlecht source as saying: “Yuma blocked everything. The club was told that he preferred to move to a top league.”
Even a personal phone call from Anderlecht boss Vincent Kompany is said not to have been able to sway Suzuki’s thinking.
This is unlikely to be the end of the transfer saga, however, with suggestions Sint-Truiden may try to cash in on the Japanese front man in January.
The club’s chairman, David Meekers, has previously said: "Certain agreements have been made in the past and they will eventually come back on the table.
"We’ll have to wait and see whether (Suzuki will be sold) in the winter or the summer."
Suzuki is said to be valued at about £4m, though whether links with Forest resurface before the winter window opens remains to be seen.
Sport/Voetbalmagazine say the value of players of Suzuki’s “calibre will rise” once clubs come through the effects of the pandemic.
They add: “At STVV they are happy that they could keep their goal getter and they hope that he will play an even better season so that they can cash in big during the winter or summer.”
The Reds failed to get a deal over the line for an out-and-out striker in the summer, and it remains an area where they are light on options.
Antwerp, Cagliari Calcio, Hertha BSC, Fenerbahce, Porto and Schalke were also linked with Suzuki in the summer.
After the window closed, he wrote on Instagram: "It had been very tough time for me in 3 months. Although, what I had done in this period was not right way. I need to stand up again and to play hard work. I will make a lot of effort once again for everyone who are involved with STVV. I really try to challenge for good result at the end of this season with players, all staff and supporters."
