It has been reported that Nottingham Forest are hoping to secure a late loan deal for Newcastle's Dwight Gayle that would become a £15m permanent move if the Reds win promotion.

The 29-year-old has proven himself regularly in the Championship over the years and he hit 24 goals for West Brom as they reached the play-offs last season.

However, he has struggled to get into Steve Bruce's XI this season, although injuries have disrupted his progress, with Gayle currently out with a hamstring injury sustained at Wolves earlier this month.

Nevertheless, that doesn't appear to have put Forest off, as Daily Mail reporter Craig Hope has revealed that the East Midlands outfit have gone in with an initial loan offer that would become permanent in the summer if Sabri Lamouchi's men win promotion.

However, this update has been denied by The Athletic reporter Paul Taylor who insists that Forest do not have an interest in the player, whilst he indicated that his fitness issues would be a problem.

Forest are currently third in the Championship and just two points away from West Brom who occupy the second automatic promotion spot.

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The verdict

This would be a real statement of intent from Forest and you would have to say that Gayle would be a fantastic addition for the team - just like he would for any club in the Championship.

He is as close to a guarantee as you can get at this level and having Lewis Grabban and Gayle in the team would give Forest a pretty formidable attacking threat.

But, it's not clear whether this will happen and given the Reds completed the signing of Nuno da Costa last night you would have to say that a move does seem unlikely given Lamouchi only plays with one up top.

It will still be interesting to see if anything happens though and things can change very quickly in football.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.