Van Hooijdonk sues Forest
The Feyenoord ace, who is being linked with a return to England, has issued a writ claiming up to £650,000 plus interest arising from his move from Forest to Vitesse Arnhem in June 1999.
Van Hooijdonk claims he is owed a settlement for ending his contract early with Forest to allow him to join Vitesse.
The Dutch international created headlines in August 1998 when he went on strike for 11 games before returning to see out the season, but Forest were keen to offload him.
They offered a settlement to cancel his contract which van Hooijdonk refused to sign and the former Celtic striker now believes he is owed a portion of the transfer fee as well as a loyalty bonus.
Forest have rejected the player's claims and are ready to issue a writ against van Hooijdonk himself.
"Transfer fees are a private agreement between the two clubs involved in the deal and no player is ever entitled to a portion of a transfer fee - unless the clubs and player formalise an agreement in writing at the time of the transfer," Forest's finance director John Pelling told the club's official website.
"This was not the case with the transfer of van Hooijdonk to Vitesse.
"That he should also claim a loyalty bonus at the end of a season in which he had gone on strike and made himself unavailable for first-team matches or training beggars belief and the club intends to vigorously defend this and all claims by van Hooijdonk.
"The club intends to counter-claim based on the damage the player inflicted on his own transfer value by taking strike action and inability to perform during his final season at The City Ground."
