New Dilane Bakwa demand set after Nottingham Forest’s £27m improved bid is rejected

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Nottingham Forest have had a second bid for Strasbourg winger Dilane Bakwa rejected, with the French side setting a clear demand for Evangelos Marinakis to meet.

After Forest had a £24m Bakwa bid rejected, the Reds clearly haven’t lost interest in the Frenchman, who looks to be a top talent at just 22 years old.

Analysts have raved about Bakwa and his consistency at Strasbourg, providing double-figure goal contributions in both of his seasons at the Ligue 1 side.

This has clearly caught the attention of the recruitment team as Forest made a second bid for Bakwa, and although it’s been rejected, Strasbourg have told Forest exactly what they need to offer.

Strasbourg set clear Dilane Bakwa price tag for Nottingham Forest

Bakwa has been a star from a young age and the stats show that he’s only improving, so it makes sense that Forest want to push this deal through while he’s still available.

Even with the £27m bid rejected by Strasbourg, it feels as if there’s still hope that a deal could be done, emphasised by a report by L’Equipe on the French side’s valuation.

The report said: “Under contract until 2027, and after a great season with 6 goals and 9 assists in 30 Ligue 1 matches, the U21 international is worth no less than €35 million excluding bonuses to the consortium that owns Chelsea, which affirms Racing’s new standing through these two rejections.”

Clearly, then, the issue for Forest lies in the upfront fee. The bonuses included in the £27m bid may have reached Strasbourg’s £30m valuation, but the Reds will need to offer that money in a single package to bring the French side to the table.

Should Forest push through with the Bakwa deal, the Frenchman may well offer more than just a squad option for Nuno Espírito Santo.

Dilane Bakwa could seriously challenge Dan Ndoye

Nuno is desperate to add more attacking options to make Forest a threat from the substitutes bench as well as the starting XI, something that Bakwa would help with.

However, he could easily find himself being one of the first names on the teamsheet, given his ability, sending a clear warning to the recently signed Dan Ndoye.

In 24/25, Bakwa and Ndoye both contributed effectively for Strasbourg and Bologna, respectively, with the Frenchman creating more and the Swiss star adding more goals to his game.

There’s little to split them, though, which is exactly what the Forest manager will want: attackers of equal quality who can push each other for that starting spot, rather than a clear gap between the starters and the bench.