Nottingham Forest have reportedly increased their bid to sign Josh Bowler but remain short of Blackpool's asking price.
The 23-year-old has been on the Reds' radar since January and Steve Cooper remains keen to add the Championship star to his squad before Thursday's deadline. Bowler is out of contract in June and Blackpool could sell to claim some sort of fee.
Earlier in the week, Forest were said to have a £2.5million bid rejected for the former Everton man. Now, according to journalist Alan Nixon, the Reds have increased their offer to £3million, but Blackpool remain keen to hold out for £4million.
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The report says Forest are likely to make another move for Bowler before Thursday, but could risk missing out as the Seasiders would struggle to find a replacement in time. Watford are also said to be interested in Bowler after losing Emmanuel Dennis to Forest earlier in the window.
Speaking about Bowler previously, Blackpool manager Michael Appleton said: "There’s clearly a lot of interest in the lad and we’re aware he’s an absolute talent. He did ever so well for the football club last season and we want him to continue to do that this season.
"But at the same time, I’m pretty confident my board won’t allow him to go for cheap, so you’ve got to weigh up the risk and the reward in these situations because we know his contract is up."
Should Forest pay the £4m asking price for Bowler? Let us know in the comment section...
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