Nottingham Forest reportedly had a bid of about £2m rejected for defender Max Lowe in January.
The Sheffield United full-back has enjoyed a successful loan spell on the banks of the Trent. Although hampered by injuries, he played a key role as Steve Cooper’s side secured promotion to the Premier League.
Earlier this week, Sheffield United CEO Steve Bettis hinted the Reds had tried to sign Lowe on a permanent basis midway through his loan spell. The Sheffield Star claim an offer of roughly £2m was put forward, but the Blades valued the player at more than double that amount.
Read more: Dane Murphy explains Forest 'investment' plan ahead of Premier League return
Read more: Why Nottingham Forest's magical season is about more than just promotion
Forest are expected to try to sign Lowe again this summer, as they aim to keep the majority of the squad together. But Bettis has said United are under “no pressure” to sell the 25-year-old.
Lowe made his comeback from a groin problem against Huddersfield Town at Wembley on Sunday. After being sidelined since March, he came off the bench for the final 15 minutes of the 1-0 win which secured the Reds’ return to the top-flight.
He has previously made clear his desire to stay at the City Ground. In March, he said: “I appreciate the way I’m getting treated as a player and as a person. I can’t look beyond this season, but I’m happy playing football at Forest at the moment.
“The gaffer knows that and everyone at the club knows how much I want to stay. But that’s not in my hands, so I’m just going to keep playing as well as I can each week and do my part to help the team.”
Lowe has two years left on his contract at Bramall Lane, but the Blades hold an option to extend that by a further 12 months, depending on appearances. The Star say the club “could be forced to consider” handing him a new deal, if they reject any approach from Forest.
Bettis added: "We are not sat here at the moment telling Paul (boss Paul Heckingbottom) he needs to sell Max. We did have an offer for Max in January, which we turned down. We were not interested in doing that, and actually Max was put out on loan by Slav (previous manager Slavisa Jokanovic) at the start of the season. It wasn't Paul's decision.”
