QPR bid for Jamaal Lascelles: Nottingham Forest reject £4m offer

The young defender will remain with the Championship side

Jamaal Lascelles of Nottingham Forest (GETTY IMAGES)

Nottingham Forest have rejected a bid from QPR for young defender Jamaal Lascelles.

Rangers manager Harry Redknapp has targeted the 20-year-old centre-half as he attempts to strengthen his squad following their promotion back to the Barclays Premier League.

But new Forest chief Stuart Pearce insists the offer, reported to be £4million, will not tempt owner Fawaz Al Hasawi to sell.

"QPR have let it out that they have put money on the table for him," Pearce told the Nottingham Post. "But I have come to build this club, not to dismantle it.

"The only way we will accept an offer for our best young players is if it is a sensational offer that ends up enabling me to strengthen the team.

"I have to know that, at the end of any negotiation, I am stronger than I was at the outset.

"But we would not take money for our best young players. The chairman has enough financial clout to trust my judgement on that."

Redknapp has made defensive recruits his priority this summer and also wants to sign Rio Ferdinand and Cardiff's Steven Caulker.

PA