Nottingham Forest’s £20m signing set for last-gasp exit as Aston Villa ponder midfielder’s future

Premier League players might not be able to move any more, but managers most certainly can. And while Liverpool have done well to fend off interest in Mohamed Salah this summer, they may have another battle on their hands as they look to keep hold of the only person at the club who might be even more important – Jürgen Klopp.

Speculation is rife that Klopp could be one of the DFB’s targets after the German FA fired Hansi Flick from the national job earlier this week in the aftermath of a 4-1 defeat to Japan, and Sports Mole are reporting that the former Borussia Dortmund boss is one of eight names on their initial shortlist. Julian Nagelsmann, Louis van Gaal and Matthias Sammer are all also on the list, despite the latter not having managed in the professional game since 2005.

Klopp has been asked many times about the possibility of becoming Germany coach at some point and has always reiterated his loyalty to Liverpool – but then, managers always say that sort of thing, don’t they?

The 3AM Verdict: If Klopp is tempted by a chance to manage his country and take a tilt at the World Cup in three years, then Liverpool will have some seriously big boots to fill. The German’s fingerprints are all over Liverpool at this point, and the squad and style of play have been made to fit his mould. Should Klopp’s loyalty prove to be conditional – on a pay rise, for the sake of argument – then Liverpool’s owners, FSG, would do well to stump up.

You can’t loan me, Dennis

Having said that Premier League players can’t move any more, that isn’t yet true – Turkey, the retirement home of choice for the discerning professional footballer who isn’t good enough for Saudi Arabia, doesn’t shut its transfer window until this Friday. And they’re in the market for a certain Nottingham Forest forward.

£20m signing Emmanuel Dennis, who has found himself firmly on the fringes at the City Ground, is likely to move on loan to either Istanbul Başakşehir or Adana Demirspor with all of his wages covered by the Super Lig sides – according to Fabrizio Romano, anyway. A loan bid by CSKA Moscow was dismissed by the player, for what I think we can all agree were probably very good reasons.

The 3AM Verdict: Forest looked a little light up front before the departure of Brennan Johnson, and moving an experienced Premier League striker on with so little cover in his position seems slightly risky – but the player has clearly decided that his future lies away from Forest. If Taiwo Awoniyi gets injured at any point, we may revisit the sense of this decision, but you can’t blame Dennis for wanting to get onto a football field.

Fenerbahçe using the force on Aston Villa

Finally, and in further Turkish football news, Fenerbahçe are in the market for a defensive midfielder and have identified Aston Villa squad player and former Wolves man Leander Dendoncker as an option.

Sport Witness reckon that he isn’t the first choice but newspaper talk suggested that they will “force” Villa to sell up should they miss out on their number one target. Quite how they will force a much wealthier football team to sell is not specified, but one imagines that Unai Emery looks forward to finding out. Brentford’s Frank Onyeka is also on the apparently lengthy shortlist for the Yellow Canaries.

The 3AM Verdict: If the price is right, it’s hard to argue against selling – the Belgian midfielder hasn’t played a single minute for Villa so far this season and is far from the first name on the team sheet. On the other hand, if the price isn’t right, he’s an experience and capable squad member who can hang around happily enough until summer. In other words, Villa seem to hold all the cards when it comes to making a decision, so perhaps the way Fenerbahçe plan to force the move is more sinister than the substantial wad of cash we were imagining. Hopefully not.