According to The Sun, Blackburn Rovers are interested in signing Nottingham Forest's 19-year-old striker Ben Brereton for a fee of £6m. The deal would initially be a loan, with the option to buy. 

The England under-20 international is yet to feature for Forest this season, but manager Aitor Karanka has emphasised that the youngster is part of his plans this season. As a club with great ambition, it would not be a wise choice to dispense of this young talent.

After the news that last season's loan striker Lee Tomlin has been excluded from newly promoted Cardiff's squad this season, there is growing speculation that the 29-year-old will return to the Championship. Despite a good spell with The Reds last year, Karanka should refrain from moving for this unwanted man and stick with what he has.

It appears that Karanka may be set on Lewis Grabban and Daryl Murphy being his primary options as strikers this year, with the two set to battle it out. But Brereton (valued at £4.5m on Transfermarkt.co.uk) may prove to be a good back up to those two men throughout the season. By having another big name in the team, one player will miss out, whereas Brereton will be willing to feature less this season as he develops as a player in the league.

Selling such a young player will be a poor choice for so many reasons. From a purely financial perspective, Forest could wait until Brereton has developed more of a name, and therefore ask for a higher price. But the prospect of keeping hold of a promising 19-year-old outweighs the chance to buy a 29-year-old on loan. Forest are not desperate for signings, and should refrain.

After a decent start to the season, Karanka may be more or less settled on his squad. There's no need to add to it when he has youngsters waiting in the wings that have a very bright future.