Nottingham Forest will have to battle newly-promoted Sheffield United for the signing of Bordeaux midfielder Younousse Sankhare, a print edition of French newspaper L'Equipe has reported.

It was previously claimed by France Football that Forest are interested in both Sankhare and midfielder Remi Walter, who is a free agent following his release from Nice at the end of last season.

Now, however, it seems that Sabri Lamouchi's new side are set to face competition for the signing of Sankhare, with the 29-year-old said to be 'much appreciated' by Blades manager Chris Wilder and his backroom team.

Sheffield United are not the only club who could pose problems for Forest in pursuit of a deal for Sankhare, with Championship rivals Swansea and Cardiff both also thought to be interested in the midfielder.

Since joining Bordeaux from Lille in January 2017, Sankhare has made 84 appearances and scored 19 goals in all competitions for the Ligue 1 side.

There are currently two years remaining on Sankhare's contract at Bordeaux, tying him to the club until the summer of 2021.

The Verdict

This will be a worry for Forest.

The attraction of the Premier League with Sheffield United, both in terms of status and financial potential, could be too strong a one for Sankhare to turn down should the Blades come calling.

That will be a similar case for both Cardiff and Swansea as well, with Sankhare's top-flight pedigree potentially offering a boost to any of the Championship trio linked with him, all of whom will be harbouring hopes of a push for the play-offs at the very least next season.

You do feel, however, that given the size of their current squad and the options in midfield available to them, this may not be as big a blow as it could have been for Forest as it could have been.