Nottingham Forest's talks with Arsenal regarding a potential loan deal for young forward Folarin Balogun collapsed last week, according to The Telegraph.

The East Midlands side have been on the search for a new striker since the summer after scoring just 37 times in 46 league games last term, but moves for the likes of Yuma Suzuki, M'Bala Nzola and Sandro Kulenovic all failed as they were unable to secure a move in this position despite a late recruitment drive in the previous transfer window.

They had multiple reported targets lined up in preparation for this month, including Martin Satriano and Brentford's Marcus Forss, but managed to strike a deal for another target in Aston Villa's Keinan Davis to bring him to the City Ground for the remainder of the season.

And it has now emerged from The Telegraph that Forest's attempts to sign another target Balogun failed after talks between all parties broke down.

Championship rivals and potential promotion rivals Middlesbrough are now in pole position according to both this report and Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth, with Chris Wilder potentially looking to bolster his strike force further after the arrival of Brighton's Aaron Connolly earlier this month.

It remains to be seen whether Steve Cooper's men will follow suit with new signing Davis, top scorer Lewis Grabban and Lyle Taylor available as options in the striking department to the Welshman.

Watford loanee Philip Zinckernagel has also played more centrally in recent games, though it now seems that 20-year-old Gunner Balogun will not be joining the second-tier side.

The Verdict:

In the end, this could be a bit of a blessing for Forest despite the obvious talent the England youth international has.

This is because they already have six loanees on board following Davis' arrival, and though the absence of Jordi Osei-Tutu means the other five would be able to get into their squad, adding another temporary player in Balogun may have created unhappiness with others potentially dropping out at his expense.

If they are going to move for another forward, or in fact move for anyone during this window, it will probably need to be on a permanent basis.

However, finances and the EFL's restrictions with their financial rules may make deals including transfer fees a bit of an issue at this stage, so they may be limited in what they can do unless they cash in on one of their prized assets.

But they will not want to see the likes of Joe Worrall and/or Brennan Johnson leave at this stage as two key assets to their cause in their quest to sustain a top-six finish. And too much movement during the January window could rock the boat, so the second-tier side need to be careful of that.