Nottingham Forest are set to miss out on the future signing of Lyon’s Houssem Aouar, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Negotiation rollercoaster

The Reds agreed personal terms to bring the 24-year-old to the Premier League over the summer, and were claimed to have made multiple offers to try and secure his services.

Despite these approaches though, an agreement failed to be reached with the Ligue 1 giants, and if Steve Cooper’s side were hoping to take another bite at the cherry in January, that might now prove difficult.

The Latest: Lyon to offer Aouar new deal

According to French outlet Foot Mercato (via Sport Witness), Lyon are ‘looking to extend’ Aouar’s contract, which is set to expire in 2023.

It’s stated that the midfielder ‘could start speaking with other clubs’ from the New Year, but the Groupama Stadium outfit are ‘keen to avoid’ that happening.

The report reads that Forest ‘might be blocked’ out of a move, should their target end up accepting the fresh terms placed in front of him.

The Verdict: Walk away

Completing the signing of Aouar was always going to be an ambitious move by Forest, but they clearly must have seen that there was no way through in the end.

The ‘impeccable’ maestro, as dubbed by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, is currently valued at £22.5m, but this will surely increase should he put pen to paper on a new deal at Lyon.

The Reds ended up securing Morgan Gibbs-White from Wolves instead, and if Aouar is set to have a bigger price tag over his head in the future, this makes the chances of considering a move even more unlikely.