Nottingham Forest are set to beat Midlands rivals Birmingham City for the signing of former Aston Villa loanee Lewis Grabban, according to The Nottingham Post.

What's the story, then?

The report says that both the Blues and Forest lodged bids for the man who spent the second half of last season on loan at Villa Park but it is the former European champions who have won the race are set to finalise a £6m deal.

He also banged in the goals for struggling Sunderland in the opening part of the previous campaign and Garry Monk wanted him to add firepower to the spluttering Birmingham attack.

He may have hoped that Grabban's time in the West Midlands would convince him to return to the area - admittedly on the other side of the city - but it does not look to be the case.

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Wells is a better and cheaper alternative 

With Grabban off the table and Birmingham beaten by a wealthier divisional rival, Monk must go back to the drawing board and one player who should stand out is Burnley outcast Nahki Wells.

The former Bradford man is a livewire and Birmingham's attack sorely lacks pace and energy; plus, he also knows where the net is and is a good striker in the second tier.

Sean Dyche doesn't sign players with a bad attitude so it is clear that he has the willingness to run all day that the Blues faithful will love - Monk should forget the Grabban chase and make Wells his top target.