Nottingham Forest are interested in signing £17m Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga

Nottingham Forest are interested in a move for Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga.

Sportsmail understands that Forest enquired about the 23-year-old but Spurs are believed to be holding out for a fee of around £17million.

Steve Cooper’s side have already signed 16 first-team players during this transfer window.

The Reds have explored a move for Tanganga after the injury sustained by Moussa Niakhate

It has been an extremely busy summer for the Tricky Trees as the club returned to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years.

The Reds broke their transfer record this month with a £42.5m swoop for Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.

And they have now explored a move for Tanganga following the long-term injury suffered by new signing Moussa Niakhate.

Sources have indicated that a move before the September 1 deadline is unlikely unless Spurs drop their asking price.

Steve Cooper’s side have already signed 16 players in the window following their promotion

Tanganga, who has yet to feature for Antonio Conte’s side this season, has also been the subject of interest from Italy.

AC Milan are in talks with Tottenham over a possible deal to take the England Under-21 international to Serie A.

Tanganga suffered a serious knee injury in January has not featured since, with Spurs also adding Clement Lenglet with summer.

The defender has fallen down the pecking order at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and has not featured in any of Spurs’ opening three Premier League games.