M'Bala Nzola snubbed a move to Nottingham Forest due to the Reds playing in the Championship, according to reports.
The Reds announced three signings on the final day of the transfer window, but one target which Forest are said to have missed out on was Spezia striker Nzola.
Chris Hughton has been keen on bringing another striker to Forest with goal conversion a sticking point for the Reds.
Lewis Grabban and Lyle Taylor are the Reds' only senior options at the City Ground; youngsters Will Swan and Brennan Johnson could be played up-front, but Swan is set to be involved in the Under-23s and Johnson is more commonly used as a Number 10 or wide.
Last season Forest were the second-lowest scorers in the Championship - only Derby County scored fewer - and so far this season similar struggles have appeared.
Nzola opted against a move to Forest due to the Reds being in England's second tier according to his agent, Doug Pingisi.
Nzola scored 11 goals in 25 Serie A matches last season and contributed four assists. His contract with the Italian side expires in June 2023.
The forward's agent told Gianluca Di Marzio (via Football Italia ): "The player wanted to stay in Serie A and Genoa was his first choice.
"We had contacts with English and Turkish clubs, but M'Bala wanted Genoa only. However, the two clubs failed to reach an agreement, so the deal collapsed."
He added: "We are in talks with Istanbul Basaksehir. We are waiting for Spezia's green light to complete the transfer. Turkey is the player's second favourite option after Serie A.
"For this reason, we didn't continue talks with Vitoria Guimaraes and we rejected a move to Nottingham Forest because they play in England's second division."
