Nottingham Forest Sign Daniel Muñoz from Crystal Palace
Nottingham Forest have landed Daniel Muñoz from Crystal Palace in a deal worth up to £22m, handing Oliver Glasner a familiar and fiercely committed right wing-back for the battles ahead.
The 30-year-old Colombia international has signed a three-year contract at the City Ground, with an option for a fourth, and reunites with Glasner after a hugely successful spell together at Selhurst Park. Muñoz was a driving force in Palace’s Conference League and FA Cup triumphs, his relentless running and aggression down the right becoming a trademark of Glasner’s side.
Now that energy belongs to Forest.
Forest move fast as Palace reset
Palace effectively cleared the runway for Muñoz’s departure when they brought in Anan Khalaili from Union Saint-Gilloise. The numbers work for them too: they bank a sizeable profit on a player signed from Genk for £8.5m as recently as January 2024.
Forest, though, are not just buying a right wing-back. They are buying a system piece Glasner already knows how to use. Muñoz fits his manager’s high-tempo, wing-back-heavy blueprint and arrives at a club that has been reshaping its squad right up against the deadline.
The question now is whether he will be the last major arrival.
Henderson going nowhere
One avenue has already been firmly shut. Despite a report last week of a Forest bid for Crystal Palace captain Dean Henderson, the goalkeeper will not be following Muñoz up the M1.
Palace have made their stance clear: Henderson is not leaving before the deadline. The club want stability behind a new head coach in Pierre Sage and intend to back him, not strip away his leaders.
Forest will have to look elsewhere for any late-window goalkeeping upgrade.
Forest eye Murphy as forward search continues
Attention has turned higher up the pitch. Forest are weighing a late move for Newcastle forward Jacob Murphy as they search for attacking options after Omari Hutchinson’s departure to AC Milan.
Newcastle have not yet received a formal offer, but Forest’s interest earlier in the window is understood to have been genuine, with Everton also in the conversation. Newcastle, for their part, are working on their own forward reinforcements, tracking Lille’s Matias Fernandes Pardo and Stuttgart’s Bilal El Khannouss.
The dominoes could still fall quickly in the final hours.
Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt are in talks with Forest to re-sign Arnaud Kalimuendo on loan. The striker spent the second half of last season in Germany and the Bundesliga club want him back, this time with a potential option to buy. His omission from Forest’s matchday 18 in the 2-2 draw at Liverpool underlined his uncertain status.
One move that will not happen is Harrison Armstrong’s switch from Everton. After Forest’s approach, the Everton board reached a unanimous decision: the forward is not for sale.
Palace juggling arrivals and unrest
At Selhurst Park, the Muñoz sale is just one strand of a frantic end to the window.
Crystal Palace are close to an agreement with Atalanta for Honest Ahanor on a season-long loan. The plan is clear: Ahanor joins Palace now, then moves permanently to Chelsea next summer. Chelsea have been negotiating a £40m deal with Atalanta, but cannot loan him straight to Palace because Axel Disasi is already on loan at the club.
It is a complex chain, but one that could leave Sage with another high-quality option for the season.
Not every situation is under Palace’s control. Ismaila Sarr wants to leave before the deadline, yet Palace insist he is not for sale and point to a contract that runs until 2029. Liverpool made an approach for the Senegal international in the past week and he sits among several wide options under consideration at Anfield, including Yankuba Minteh at Brighton.
Sarr has missed Palace’s first two league games through injury, a subplot that only adds to the tension as the clock ticks towards Tuesday’s 11pm deadline.
Muñoz’s exit has already reshaped both squads. The next 48 hours will decide whether it proves a one-off deal between these clubs this window, or the first move in a much larger reshuffle of Premier League firepower.
