Crystal Palace are the new favourites to sign Eddie Nketiah after Nottingham Forest's proposed deal for the Arsenal striker fell through, sources have told ESPN.
Nketiah was expected to join Forest after the two clubs agreed a fee of around £30 million (US$40 million) last week, but a source told ESPN the move has stalled due to the 25-year-old's personal terms.
Palace have now begun negotiations at a similar level and one source suggests a bid of £25m plus another £5m in add-ons is being considered.
Nketiah had previously been close to joining Marseille but those talks failed before Forest arrived, and Arsenal remain keen to secure a deal before Friday's transfer deadline.
Speaking after Saturday's 2-0 win at Aston Villa, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta suggested no deal was imminent.
“At the moment Eddie is our player,” Arteta said. “He is very committed to us. Despite the noise, he is here and wants to be with us. He is very happy that we won the game.”
Palace have money to spend after allowing Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen to leave, while centre-back Marc Guéhi could also leave this week, while Newcastle are weighing up whether to make a fourth bid of around £70m.
Nketiah joined Arsenal at the age of 14 and has scored 38 goals in 168 appearances.
