In quite simple terms, it's strange to think that Nottingham Forest could lose a high-profile transfer target of theirs at one time or another.
Whether that be back in the club's storied Brian Clough era, or in a current frenetic spending climate. In a similar sort of situation to Chelsea, Nottingham Forest's owner Evangelos Marinakis subscribes to the idea of spending power bringing success and so far, Premier League survival under Steve Cooper has proved him right.
How much have Nottingham Forest spent on transfers?
Nottingham Forest brought in a quite ridiculous 21 new players this summer. Spending a total of £105.7 million (€122.05m) in just one window, it pushed their spending combined with last term, up to a whopping £274.7m.
Steve Cooper has certainly had his work cut out gelling a seemingly ever-expanding group. Yet with the side sitting 12th – even getting a 1-0 win on the third day of the season at Stamford Bridge, Forest look to have made progress in convincing fans they're an established first division side once again.
That said, perhaps they could have reached the promised land sooner had they signed Harry Maguire.
Why didn't Nottingham Forest sign Harry Maguire?
As revealed by the Athletic back in 2019 with words from former gaffer and esteemed player, Stuart Pearce – Maguire could've gone to the City Ground as early as 2014. One of two players Pearce was keen on, the other being Che Adams deep in non-league, Maguire was just showing the early signs of a solid player possessing Premier League capabilities
In the article where both Stuart Pearce and Dougie Freedman looked back over a tumultuous time for Forest, the former defender spoke of a disconnect with the chairman. Previously, he had signed both Britt Assombalonga and Michail Antonio. Those two players had moved on for a collective £15m worth of profit. However, when he mentioned his next two targets, the chairman's distrust came back to bite him.
“I looked back recently at two players I took to the chairman as potential signings during my time at Forest – Che Adams and Harry Maguire,” says Pearce. “One of those has gone for £15 million, and the other £80 million. You look back at things like that with a rueful smile on your face. Because people hadn’t heard of those two at the time, it was decided it was something that they would not finance. (Pearce, 2019)
Hindsight truly spirals the situation into a whole new stratosphere for Nottingham Forest. Especially so, considering the nature of the players they lost out on and just how cheaply they could've got them for. Pearce continued, illustrating some astounding numbers given today's transfer inflation:
“We asked Sheffield United for a price on Maguire and I don’t think the two clubs could come to an agreement. With Adams, you were talking about £20,000 (from Ilkeston). Clubs like Forest should be mopping up young talent like that.”
How much did Manchester United pay for Harry Maguire?
Looking back not only brings up money-related headaches for Forest, there's also personal aspects to ponder too. Of course, after playing for Hull City after a £2.5m move from Sheffield United, Maguire joined Forest's East Midlands rival in Leicester City. In turn by taking on huge development, he gifted the Foxes a giant transfer sum when Manchester United snatched the centre back up for £80m in 2019.
At this point, Forest had already agonisingly watched their rivals win a historic Premier League in 2016, so to see a 'could've been' so to speak, go awry must've been extra painful.
How much is Harry Maguire worth now?
Now, even regarding Maguire's oscillating form and seemingly eternal scapegoat spotlight, he still remains a staunch Gareth Southgate starter.
According to Transfermarkt's June estimations – the 6 foot 4 defender is valued at €20m or around £17.3m.
That is quite a staggering drop-off, but nonetheless, Forest arguably made a mistake by refusing to cough up such a meagre asking price all those years ago. What could have been?