Nottingham Forest have made an official bid to sign Tottenham Hotspur defender Japhet Tanganga, according to an Italian outlet.

The Lowdown: Forest register interest

The 23-year-old has been given the green light to leave the Premier League giants this window after falling down the pecking order under Antonio Conte.

The Athletic credited the Reds with an interest earlier this week, despite AC Milan being long-term admirers, and it appears that Steve Cooper is wasting no time in trying to entice his target to the City Ground.

The Latest: Forest submit Tanganga bid

Italian outlet Calciomercato (via Sport Witness) claim that Forest have ‘made an offer worth €25m’ (£21m) for Tanganga.

It’s stated that whilst that is the valuation that Tottenham were holding out for, the centre-back ‘wants Milan’ and has ‘reiterated’ his desires to his agents, making a move to the Serie A his ‘priority’.

Despite this, it’s reported that the Midlands outfit are ‘serious and close to reaching an agreement’ with Spurs.

The Verdict: Don’t do it…

After losing Moussa Niakhate to injury for at least the next few months, it’s understandable that Cooper is on the lookout for a central defensive replacement, but a deal for Tanganga isn’t one that the boss should be pursuing.

The Hackney-born talent, dubbed ‘solid as a rock’ by sports journalist Josh Bunting, clearly favours a switch to Milan over the Reds, and ideally any new signing should be committed to joining instead of accepting a second-choice move.

Tanganga is also likely to be on a decent pay packet at Spurs, and it wouldn’t be worth Forest breaking the bank for a player whose heart wouldn’t be fully in it.