Malick Fofana is reportedly ‘a long way from the City Ground’ amid talk Nottingham Forest have stepped up their interest in the Lyon winger.

The Reds will look to strengthen out wide this summer and the 20-year-old emerged as a potential target last month. Several clubs were said to be keen on him at the time, with a price tag of at least €50 million (£42m) on his head.

On Tuesday, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claimed Forest had made progress in trying to snap up Fofana. He posted on X: “Nottingham Forest have agreed deal with Olympique Lyon for Malick Fofana… but no agreement yet on player side. Fofana, waiting for Champions League clubs with Chelsea still keen on the player. Understand Bayern (Munich) and Napoli have also called to make initial approach.”

However, Romano’s update has since been deemed wide of the mark by reports elsewhere. It has been suggested the Reds could yet ‘overtake’ Premier League rivals Chelsea in the race for the Belgian, but a deal is said to be a long way from being done.

French publication FootMercato said: “Malick Fofana is still a long way from joining the City Ground, as, according to our information, there is no agreement between the two clubs. We can even add that the French and English (clubs) have never held discussions regarding a transfer for Fofana.”

Manchester United and Liverpool have previously been linked with Fofana. Last month, it was reported Chelsea were the first club to make a direct approach to Lyon’s hierarchy regarding the player.