It looks as though Nottingham Forest are set to lose Anthony Elanga this summer, with Newcastle United submitting a new and improved £55m bid recently.

Forest rejected the first bid of £45m, but it remains to be seen whether this new one could seal the deal.

Elanga registered 18 goal contributions last term and should he leave, it would leave a major void to fill in the club’s attack.

Nuno Espírito Santo will be working tirelessly to bring in a replacement for the Swedish winger. And he could turn to Ligue 1 to do so.

Nottingham Forest already working on Elanga replacement

At the start of July, Fabrizio Romano claimed that Forest had agreed on a deal with French side Lyon to sign Malick Fofana this summer.

Other clubs are sniffing around the talented forward, however, notably Chelsea, and this could perhaps impact his final decision.

Last season, the Belgian starlet scored 11 times for the Ligue 1 side, while also chipping in with six assists.

He shone in the Europa League, with eight of his goal involvements coming in that competition and considering Forest will be playing in Europe next term, he is exactly the type of player required for Santo.

Fofana is still raw, however, and there is no doubt there is plenty of development needed by the youngster to make it to the very top.

Could the City Ground outfit perhaps land an alternative to the Belgian maestro? Especially someone with plenty of Premier League experience.

Forest can land Yoane Wissa as an Elanga upgrade

Forest reportedly lodged a £22m bid for Yoane Wissa back in January and have now shown interest in signing the player this summer.

Indeed, it was reported last month that Forest were willing to bid again for the Brentford forward, with the Bees looking for a fee in the region of £34m.

Hailed as “unbelievable” by former Brentford manager Thomas Frank, Wissa can operate either on the wing or up front, giving Santo plenty of options with the DR Congo international.

Last season for the Bees, he scored 20 goals and grabbed five assists, which trumps Elanga’s output by seven. For context, the aforementioned Fofana registered 11 goals and six assists in all competitions last term.

Furthermore, Wissa also registered more shots per 90 (2.77 vs 1.58), more total shots (90 vs 44), touches in the attacking penalty area (163 vs 110) and had a greater percentage success with take-ons (30.6% vs 30.1%) in the Premier League last season.

This proves that the Brentford star would be an upgrade on Elanga ahead of next season. Not only can he play either upfront or on the flanks, but his eye for goal is far greater than the Swedes.

If the reported fee of £34m is correct, there is no doubt Santo could land a bargain signing with Wissa. With bigger clubs circling around Fofana, it looks unlikely that he will move to the City Ground this summer.

A more realistic option is Wissa. Given his stats, he could even turn out to be even better for Forest than the young Belgian.