Nottingham Forest face Johan Bakayoko transfer hurdle as Premier League rivals muscle in

Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Everton are all showing interest in PSV winger Johan Bakayoko

Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Everton are facing an uphill battle to sign PSV winger Johan Bakayoko – even if they strike a deal with the Dutch giants for his signature.

The three Premier League clubs are going up against one another for the Belgium international and Forest in particular have identified Bakayoko as among their top summer targets following Anthony Elanga’s £55million switch to Newcastle.

The 22-year-old is considered one of the best wide options available on the current market as he’s entered the final year of his contract in Eindhoven.

However, competition for his signature is incredibly fierce with Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Monaco also in the mix for the attacker.

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The majority of those sides have already started club-to-club dialogue with PSV but crucially, Bakayoko is understood to favour Champions League football if he’s to pursue a new challenge in the coming weeks – though it’s unclear whether that decision is final.

The Eredivisie champions, who want to sell, can offer him just that next season but they’re cautious that foreign teams would be free to sign Bakayoko on a pre-contract agreement from January 1.

The Belgian previously snubbed a club-record switch to Brentford in September 2023 and later claimed he did not want to join a ‘mid-table’ side.

Sources close to Bakayoko have intimated that his preference is to fight for major trophies which so far, has not deterred any of the English clubs currently at the table.

At this stage, Forest and Bournemouth’s interest is believed to be more concrete than Everton’s as the Toffees also have a number of different wide options on their radar, including Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo.

Bakayoko mustered 12 goals and three assists in all competitions for PSV last season and he already has 20 Champions League appearances to his name.

Unlike Bournemouth and Everton, Forest can offer the forward European football next season and there’s a chance they’ll be playing in the Europa League, subject to an appeal, after Crystal Palace were demoted to the UEFA Conference League on Friday after allegedly breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.

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