Nottingham Forest have reportedly suffered rejection in their bid to sign Anthony Knockaert on loan.
The Reds have brought in 13 additions so far this summer, and have until Friday evening to complete any further domestic deals.
Knockaert was part of the Brighton team which Hughton guided to the Premier League, and has three promotions on his CV.
Now Football Insider say top flight strugglers Fulham have refused Forest's request to take the 28-year-old on a season-long loan.
Reds linked with free agent
Forest have been linked with a move for Cameroonian midfielder Wato Kuate.
The 25-year-old began his career at Manchester City but is now a free agent after being released by Finnish side RoPS, who reportedly questioned his commitment.
TEAMtalk say the midfielder is also being tracked by Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City, but QPR are leading the chase and have reportedly taken him on trial.
Kuate has had a nomadic career since leaving Manchester City, playing in Italy, Israel and Turkey.
He also had an eventful spell with Dundee United in Scotland as a 21-year-old, where he was told he would never play for the club again after a bust up with the club captain and manager.
Return of fans latest
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden says now is not the time to give a potential date for fans to return to football.
Plans were originally in place to see fans return to stadiums from October 1 but a rise in coronavirus cases put a stop to that.
It has plunged many EFL and non-league clubs into financial uncertainty but, speaking on BBC Breakfast, Dowden said the government cannot commit to allowing fans back into games in the short-term.
He said: “That was the plan and that’s something we ideally wanted to happen and had been working towards.
“We’d gone through this phased reopening of football.
“For example, very early on, football was one of the first sports to return behind closed doors, we facilitated that with games free-to-view on the BBC and others.
“The next stage was due to be on October 1 to enjoy fans back in socially-distanced circumstances.
“We worked very closely with the clubs to mitigate the risks surrounding that.
“Ultimately, though, against this backdrop of rapidly rising infections, I think people will appreciate now is not the time to do that, to add to the risk of infection spreading by making further easements.”
Comment on Project Big Picture
Thirst for money and power is nothing new in football.
Be it the creation of the Premier League or expansion of the European Cup into the Champions League, the base motivation has always been to enrich those at the top of the game who are already swimming in cash.
The coronavirus pandemic has just given rich owners licence to be more brazen, with those at the bottom of the food chain on their knees.
Now the turkeys are threatening to vote for Christmas and the top of the game is in danger of eating itself with the ludicrously named 'Project Big Picture'.
The big picture being the biggest clubs want yet more money and yet more power.
Now they're ready to act like pay day lenders to get it. Project Wonga would have been a more apt moniker.
