Nottingham Forest have placed a £3 million pricetag on Arsenal and Liverpool target Jamaal Lascelles but are only willing to sell him in January if he is loaned back until the end of the season, Goal has learned.

The two Premier League big hitters are leading the race for the England U20 defender, who has also attracted interest from Tottenham and Newcastle United.

Arsenal stepped up their pursuit of Lascelles by dispatching chief scout Steve Rowley to watch him in action against Bolton Wanderers last Saturday.

Forest are braced for offers this month for the highly-rated centre-back, who has been compared in some quarters to a young Sol Campbell.

The Championship club do not want to lose Lascelles but accept that it would be difficult to reject a bid that matches their £3m valuation.

One of the conditions they will place on a sale in this window is that the 20-year-old spends the rest of the campaign on loan, much as Wilfried Zaha did when he joined Manchester United from Crystal Palace a year ago.

The 6ft 2in defender, who is regarded as one of the best central defenders in his age group in the country and has been capped at U18, U18 and U20 level for England, has established himself in the Forest team over recent months and the club are reportedly keen to offer him an improved contract.

Source: Goal.com