Fulham are in talks with Strasbourg as they look to beat Nottingham Forest to the signature of French winger Dilane Bakwa, according to Pete O’Rourke.

Forest had a bid believed to be worth up to £30.2m rejected by the Ligue 1 outfit on Monday and the Whites are now looking to hijack the deal. The exciting 22 year-old wide player of Congolese descent is keen to move to the Premier League, but Strasbourg – owned by the same BlueCo consortium that bought Chelsea – are eager to encourage a bidding war.

Bakwa has hit eleven goals and contributed twenty assists in 69 appearances for Strasbourg since signing for Le Racing in 2023 from Bordeaux. The versatile former French under-21 international, who can operate on either flank or up front, has plenty of Premier League admirers, with Sunderland and Leeds United also considering joining the race for his services in the closing days of the transfer window.

Fulham boss Marco Silva called on the club to sign new players after last night’s League win over Bristol City having seen the Whites bring in just Benjamin Lecomte – a back-up goalkeeper – this summer. Fulham are thought to be close to concluding a deal to sign Samuel Chukwueze from AC Milan, although the Italian giants may need him to play on Friday night as they have no senior forwards to replace the doubtful Rafael Leao.