Manchester City have seen an initial offer for Elliot Anderson knocked back by Nottingham Forest.
Talks remain ongoing between the clubs and City are considering their next offer.
City are thought to be in pole position to sign the midfielder this summer but are among a number of big clubs to be showing interest, including Arsenal and Manchester United.
Man Utd have already agreed a £34m deal to sign from Atalanta this week.
Anderson, contracted at Forest until the summer of 2029, has emerged as one of the Premier League's best central midfielders this season and is set to be an important part of England's World Cup bid.
The 23-year-old is part of a group of elite midfield options set to be on the market this summer, including Newcastle's Sandro Tonali, Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton and Brighton's Carlos Baleba.
City admire how Anderson, whose value is thought to be considerable, has evolved since joining Forest from Newcastle in 2024, and relations between the two clubs are thought to be excellent.
Midfielders such as Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Declan Rice have all made moves worth in excess of £100m in the past few windows.
Analysis by Your Site' Laura Hunter:
Given the length of Elliot Anderson's current deal, Nottingham Forest are in a strong negotiating position.
But it's surely in Man City's interest, and the midfielder's, to get a deal done before his World Cup campaign kicks off in two weeks' time - should that be possible.
His value is only likely to increase this summer, if he plays and performs for England as expected. He's got all the attributes to be as good and as influential as Declan Rice has been for Arsenal since his respective move from West Ham.
He's not a chance creator in the way Rice is, but he's a monster at recovering possession and then uses the ball really smartly.
He had the most touches of any Premier League central midfielder last season (3,300) in a Forest side that do not traditionally see the majority of possession share in games.
And he would substantially elevate City's midfield options, able to dovetail with Rodri, or replace the Spaniard altogether when or if he was unavailable.
Your Site News' Rob Dorsett:
Elliot Anderson is one of Man City's key transfer targets, as he is for their rivals Man Utd and a number of other elite European clubs.
What we also know now is that there was a meeting between Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the Manchester City chairman, and the Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Maranakis, in Budapest last weekend, with both men there for a dinner connected with the Champions League final.
Now, it's a moot point exactly what was discussed in that meeting, but it's pretty clear to us that City have since approached Nottingham Forest and made it clear to them that they want to sign Anderson, but it's also clear that the two clubs are some distance apart in terms of the valuation.
Now, from Anderson's point of view, it's been made very, very clear to me that he doesn't want this distraction right now.
He is away with England at his first major tournament, and it's been made very clear to him and all of the England players from Thomas Tuchel that he wants full focus on this preparation camp in Miami, where the players are being forced to acclimatise as quickly as possible for what will be a very testing World Cup.
It's also been pointed out to me that Anderson will do nothing to upset his owner, Maranakis.
The two men have become very close in recent times because Maranakis has been absolutely incredible, I understand, in his support of Anderson following the death of his mother in April.
So with all that in mind, while it's going to be one of the biggest transfer stories of the summer, a player, an elite player, who's worth £100m plus, and who's being targeted by some huge football clubs, I'd be very surprised if he was to complete a move anywhere before the end of the World Cup.
