Andrew Omobamidele is set to end a frustrating 17 months at Nottingham Forest with a move to RC Strasbourg Alsace.
The mid-table French Ligue 1 club is owned by the BlueCo consortium, led by Todd Boehly and the private equity firm Clearlake Capital that also control Chelsea.
Omobamidele has made just 11 Premier League appearances since signing for Forest in September 2023 for a €13 million fee with Nuno Espírito Santo leaving him out of most match day squads this season.
L’Equipe reports that the 22-year-old, who won his tenth Republic of Ireland cap against Greece last October, is in France to compete a deal that would allow Strasbourg to buy him out of a Forest contract that runs until June 2028.
Elsewhere, Republic of Ireland international Caitlin Hayes has brought to an end her four and a half year stay with Celtic by joining Brighton in the Women’s Super League.
The move ends recent speculation about the 29-year-old’s future, Celtic manager Elena Sadiku having dismissed rumours about the club’s two-time player of the year attracting interest from England, Spain and the United States as the work of her agent. She insisted Hayes would stay with Celtic where she was contracted until 2026.
But Hayes now returns to England’s south coast, having moved to Celtic in September 2020 from then Championship club Lewes, just up the road from Brighton. According to the BBC, she also held talks with Everton, where she spent time in her youth, but opted to join a club that has been on the up this season.
Half way through the current WSL campaign, Brighton have already won as many games as they did in all of last season and are fifth in the table. They appointed former Australian international Dario Vidosic as their new manager last summer and went on a major transfer spree, their headline signings being England internationals Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris.
Hayes, born in Warrington, has been an ever-present for Ireland since declaring for the country of her grandfather’s birth in September 2023, her move bringing to 15 the number of Republic of Ireland internationals now with WSL clubs.
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