Nottingham Forest have had a bid for key Brentford striker Yoane Wissa rebuffed as they revive their interest in the Congolese international.
Forest targeted Wissa in January and were willing to pay £25million for the 28-year-old in the winter transfer window.
But the Bees were unwilling to sell Wissa, who they value at more than £50m.
Wissa netted an impressive 19 Premier League goals last campaign and remains a target for Nuno Espirito Santo.
However, Forest’s latest offer fell way short of Brentford’s expectation and was even lower than their January bid, according to The Athletic.
He is viewed as increasingly important for the west Londoners who look set to lose Bryan Mbeumo this summer.
Forest were willing to bid £25million for Wissa in January but Brentford want at least £50m
Nottingham Forest have had a bid rejected for Brentford and Congo star forward Yoane Wissa
The 28-year-old is also reportedly a target of former boss Thomas Frank who moved to Spurs
Wissa’s deal at the Gtech Community Stadium runs until 2026, with an option for a further 12 months.
The French born forward was signed for a cut-price £8.5m in 2021 from Lorient and has scored 45 goals in 137 league games for the club.
He reached new levels last season following the departure of Ivan Toney, scoring 20 goals and adding five assists in all competitions.
A move to Forest was strongly rejected in January.
Then Brentford manager Thomas Frank said: ‘I just want to say good luck to them [Nottingham Forest]. Because it’s not going to happen.’
And Frank is now reportedly eyeing a reunion with Wissa, who is reportedly open to a move to Tottenham.
Anthony Elanga has agreed a deal with Newcastle and Spurs are targeting Morgan Gibbs-White, so a Wissa move to the City Ground would come as a huge boost for Forest.
But it would be a heavy blow for Brentford who have already faced significant upheaval this summer.
Forest’s latest offer fell short of Brentford’s expectation and was lower than their January bid
It has been a summer of change at Brentford with captain Christian Norgaard joining Arsenal
Andrews was appointed as Frank’s replacement and he is set to begin his first managerial role
Frank joined Tottenham last month, while goalkeeper Mark Flekken signed for Bayer Leverkusen.
Brentford captain Christian Norgaard has also completed a £12m move to Arsenal, while Man United have had multiple bids rejected for Bryan Mbeumo, although the Cameroonian is expected to depart.
Elsewhere, Keith Andrews, who was previously Brentford’s set piece coach, was appointed as Frank’s replacement and he is set to undertake his first managerial role.
Five staff members have also moved to Tottenham alongside Frank.
Justin Cochrane, head of performance Chris Haslam and first team analyst Joe Newton joined with him initially before Nick Stubbings and Tom Perryman were added to the medical department this week.
Speaking towards the end of last season, Brentford’s director of football Phil Giles insisted he was ‘relaxed’ about the situations surrounding Wissa and Mbeumo.
‘I have a lot of insight but that doesn’t mean I will talk about it!,’ he said. ‘No, in general, if I was looking at a striker or a wide player as another club then they have to be on a shortlist, you would imagine.
‘But the number of clubs that can sign them is a small number worldwide so time will tell if a club has that need or requirement. At the moment, we are pretty relaxed.’
