Nottingham Forest have their eye on Millwall winger Jed Wallace as they look to do further business before the January transfer window closes.
But one report has claimed they might have to shell out considerably more than they had bargained for to get him.
The Reds have been rebuffed in their attempts to sign Wallace so far, with other clubs also chasing his signature as he is into the final six months of his contract.
And the Daily Express suggests the Lions have slapped a staggering £9m price tag on his head, adding they “could still sell him in the final days” of the window.
Meanwhile, Lions boss Gary Rowett has defended Wallace after he did not feature on Saturday as Forest triumphed 1-0 at The Den, and says he still expects him to “pull a Millwall shirt on again”.
The 27-year-old had returned to training following a quad muscle problem, but suffered a setback in the build-up to the game and was not involved.
Amid the Reds’ interest, it led to speculation by some fans that he had refused to play - something the man himself roundly dismissed on Twitter.
And Rowett told South London Press: “I’ve seen some of the comments but I’ve also seen the scan results – there is some damage in there.
“I don’t think it is major, which is good news, but there is certainly something there which meant he was unavailable for the game.
“I know it looks slightly suspicious from everyone’s perspective, me leaving him out of the squad. People put two and two together and come up with five.
“But what I would say is that I’ve never, ever questioned Jed’s commitment and how much he wants to work hard in a Millwall shirt. And certainly his performances have shown that over a long period of time.
“That’s all we can really say on the matter. It’s been well-documented that there has been interest and it’s been well-documented that he’s out of contract at the end of the season but we have to try and be fair to players.
“The fairest I can be is that he has got an injury and my belief is that Jed will pull a Millwall shirt on again and show that commitment at some point in the future.”
