Nottingham Forest have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Jerry Yates to The City Ground this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that Blackpool have entered into fresh contract talks with the 24-year-old, offering the centre-forward improved terms in a bid to fend off interest in his services in the summer transfer window.

It has been reported that a number of Championship clubs, including the likes of Nottingham Forest and Blackburn Rovers, are considering a move for the prolific forward, in a bid to improve their attacking options ahead of next season.

Hughton will be fuming

Considering just how impressive Yates was for Blackpool last season, if Nottingham Forest end up missing out on his signing as a result of the forward putting pen to paper on a new deal at Bloomfield Road, Chris Hughton will undoubtedly be fuming at the opportunity missed.

Indeed, over his 47 League One appearances for Blackpool last term, the £2.1k-per-week man scored 21 goals, registered eight assists and created six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots and making one key pass per game.

These metrics saw the centre-forward earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.99, ranking him as Neil Critchley's sixth-best performer in the third tier of English football, playing a key role in his side securing promotion to the Championship.

Yates also scored a further two goals and registered one assist in the club's FA Cup run, taking his haul to 23 goals and nine assists for the season.

And, with only Derby County scoring fewer Championship goals than Forest's 37 last time out, it is evident that Hughton is in rather desperate need of reinforcements in the position this summer.

As such, a move to bring the man Critchley dubbed an "outstanding" player to The City Ground this summer would have appeared to be a fantastic piece of business for Forest, however, following the latest update on his current situation at Bloomfield Road, the Garibaldi could well have missed their chance.

In other news: Nixon drops transfer claim on "important" £1.2k-p/w gem, Forest fans would be fuming