Forest sign Rennes’ Kalimuendo for reported £26m

Arnaud Kalimuendo has been signed for a reported £26 million from Nottingham Forest on a five-year contract.

As Rennes finished 12th in the Ligue 1, Frenchman Kalimuendo, 23, scored 18 goals in 34 appearances last season.

Prior to making this signing, Forest had already spent about £144 million on six players during the summer transfer window.

They also spent close to £30 million on Manchester City midfielder James McAtee over the weekend on a winger deal worth $ 337.5 million.

Nuno Espirito Santo, the club’s manager, had raised the transfer market on Friday, claiming that his team is not well-equipped to handle a European campaign.

In their first Premier League game of the season, Forest defeated Brentford 3-1 at the City Ground on Sunday.

Since joining Rennes in 2022, Kalimuendo, who started his career at Paris St-Germain, has scored 42 goals in 105 games.

At the Paris 2012 Olympics, he and France also shared silver last year.

He described the club’s website as “honoured” when he learned of Forest’s interest.

“I have good experience and am prepared for the challenge,” I said. I had a good year last year, scoring and adding goals, but I want to improve.

“I’m looking forward to playing at the City Ground and in the Premier League.” It’s obvious that the fans create a beautiful atmosphere when I watched the last season of the game.

Forest are getting ready for the Europa League this year after Crystal Palace was demoted to the Europa Conference League.