Brentford have had a club-record £30million bid for Nottingham Forest striker Brennan Johnson rejected.
Thomas Frank has long been an admirer of the 22-year-old but has failed in a first approach that falls short of the Midlands club's valuation.
Forest see Johnson as pivotal to their aims for the coming season, having narrowly avoided relegation this term.
The club retaining their Premier League status has made them able to resist approaches from Brentford. It remains to be seen if the Bees will return with an improved offer.
Brentford are looking for attacking reinforcements after Ivan Toney was handed an eight-month ban from playing football.
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Toney, 27, was last month charged with breaching the Football Association's betting rules. He is unable to play again until January 2024 and is next allowed to train with his team-mates on September 17 this year.
The Bees have several attacking options, including Kevin Schade, bought for a club-record fee of £20million earlier this week, their previous club-record signing Keane Lewis-Potter, plus Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.
Brentford have also signed goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Freiburg as David Raya edges closer to joining Tottenham.
