Nottingham Forest offered more than £1 million for Blackpool winger Josh Bowler, according to The Sun journalist, Alan Nixon.
The former Everton talent is on the radar of Forest and Dane Murphy is keen to bring him to the City Ground.
Bowler signed a one-year deal with Blackpool in the summer, with the Tangerines holding an option to give him another year.
Forest are hoping to take advantage of that and made their first move for the player last weekend.
It does seem as though the Reds will have to up the ante. Blackpool boss Neil Critchley wants to keep him and the club values him far higher.
Bowler, 22, has experienced a somewhat strange career to date.
Everton snapped him up from QPR but despite shining for the academy ranks, he left without making a first-team appearance.
He enjoyed a successful spell on loan with Hull and was snapped up on a free by Blackpool during the summer.
Bowler has enjoyed regular first-team football under Critchley, scoring twice and claiming three assists for the Tangerines this season.
His eye-catching performances this season have alerted Forest and they are keen to sign him before the deadline at the end of the month.
Critchley called Bowler ‘fantastic’ following a recent win over Hull City.
Exciting: Bowler fits the Forest profile nicely
Steve Cooper was in charge of Forest when Bowler played for Blackpool as they lost 2-1 against the Reds at the City Ground in October.
Clearly, he made an impression on the Forest boss and he’s a player who ticks the boxes for Dane Murphy too.
Bowler would be a magnificent capture by the club. He is young, has bags of potential and has also showcased he has what it takes at Championship level.
- STAR: Forest want to keep loanne
More goals and assists will be the order of the day going forward. Playing among better players, however, would help him kick on in that sense.
It’s unclear how much Blackpool do value Bowler at, but Forest have to consider another bid for a player who could thrive under Cooper.