Tottenham Hotspur are said to have had two bids turned down for on-loan Nottingham Forest defender Djed Spence.
The right-back has attracted a host of admirers thanks to his sparkling form since joining the Reds from Middlesbrough in the summer, with clubs at home and abroad understood to have their eye on him.
Boro value him at about £15m and last week rejected two offers from Spurs which were “considerably below” that price tag, according to ESPN.
Given Spence has already represented both Forest and Middlesbrough this term, the 21-year-old would be prevented from turning out for a third team.
But that doesn’t seem to have put off the Premier League side from trying to sign him.
Arsenal, Leeds United, Brentford, Southampton, Roma and Inter Milan have also been linked with Spence.
There is likely to be a race for his signature come the summer. Barring an improved bid from Tottenham in the last few hours of deadline day, however, it is reported his future is unlikely to be resolved before then.
At one stage, it had looked as though Spence would be recalled by his parent club midway through his City Ground loan spell.
He is set to spend the full campaign with the Reds, however, with boss Steve Cooper recently brushing off any suggestion that speculation about his future might affect the youngster.
“I’m not sure how much of it is true. And if it is, it’s not going to be information which comes to us because we’re not his parent club,” said the Welshman.
“I’m not sure if any of it is true. It might be, it might not.
“He’s with us now until the end of the season, so I’m only focused on his training, if he plays at the weekend what his performance should look like and just trying to work with a good, young player.
“He’s a really good young guy, and we’re trying to work with him in getting the best out of himself. If he does that, then we’re all benefitting.
“He’s had some good moments for us and some good periods of how he’s played.
“But as I’ve told him and many others, you don’t want to be good for half a season. You need to make sure you put a full one together - that’s when you start thinking about being an established player.
“It’s maybe not even just a season, it’s a period when you’re at a club. Whenever we leave, you want to look back and go, ‘yeah, I worked hard, I did my best and I made sure I was as successful as I could be’.”
