The January transfer window is upon us, and there has been plenty of movement at Nottingham Forest already as the Reds look to move on some of the dead wood but also strengthen in a bid to keep their place in the Premier League.
The Arnaud Kalimuendo transfer looks to be imminent, as the French forward is set to move to the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt, who have struck a loan deal for the 23-year-old with an option to buy.
After only six months at Nottinghamshire, why has the Premier League move been a failed one for the Frenchman, and will he benefit from a change in environment?
Arnaud Kalimuendo Transfer: A Failed Move To Forest And Now On His Way Out In The January Transfer Window
The former Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Rennes forward joined Nottingham Forest in August 2025 for around £26 million as one of 13 players that arrived on Trentside last summer, as then manager Nuno Espirito Santo looked to add quality and depth to a side that just qualified for the Europa League.
Kalimuendo joined the Reds after a red-hot season in Ligue 1, bagging 17 goals and three assists in 33 games for Rennes.
The PSG academy graduate failed to hit the ground running for Forest, coming on as a substitute in his first three Premier League appearances and only playing the first half in Nottingham Forest’s 3-2 loss to Swansea City in the Carabao Cup Third Round.
A bit-part player in the Premier League, the forward was able to make his presence felt in Europe, notching up two goals in important wins against Malmö and Utrecht.
However, after just 389 minutes, Kalimunedo and Forest have seen enough and are looking to send the forward out so he can get his career and season back on track.
For the 23-year-old, it has not helped that the manager who had signed him was gone, not even a month after he signed, and his chances looked very limited from that point onwards.
In addition to that, joining a team which went through a squad overhaul and signed so many players makes the task of breaking through into the team a lot harder, something that Kalimuendo found out rather quickly.
The forward now looks to be on his way out, with Eintracht Frankfurt looking like his next destination on loan until the end of the season.
With Die Adler currently seventh in the Bundesliga and fighting for a spot in the European places, can Kalimuendo help lift Frankfurt back into Europe?
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Is Eintracht Frankfurt The Right Fit For Arnaud Kalimuendo?
One thing that Kalimuendo needs is to find a team where he can be the main man and find not such a high-pressure environment.
At Rennes last season, the French forward was usually placed as the centre-forward or just behind the striker in a front three, something that Forest lacked when they played him in Europe.
Frankfurt have been playing formations that are closer to those of Rennes last season, which will only play into Kalimuendo’s hands.
With that being said, the 23-year-old could likely slot into the centre-forward position with Die Adler’s main man, Jonathan Burkardt, sidelined with a calf injury, which would help the Frenchman regain his confidence, become the main man once again and get his scoring boots back.
He will face competition from 23-year-old Ansgar Knauff, who has looked to take on the task of replacing the injured Burkardt, but if a strong, fit and hungry Kalimunedo is ready for the task, the German might be in trouble and his minutes limited once again.
This transfer will only be a good thing for Forest and the player, as the club will offload a player who has hardly contributed and Kalimunedo can hopefully regain his confidence and his goalscoring prowess, which, if he does, might come back to bite Nottingham Forest in the back.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Sports Press Photo
Recording Date: 14.12.2025
