Championship rivals Charlton Athletic could soon see five of their first-team stars leave for free without being allowed to offer them new deals.
Lee Bowyer has revealed that his side are under a transfer embargo that stops them from offering senior players new deals.
That means the likes of Jake Forster-Caskey, Naby Sarr, Jonny Williams, Adam Matthews and Dhillon Phillips could soon all be available for Nottingham Forest and their rivals to poach for free.
Sarr, a player Bowyer is especially keen to keep, made 30 appearances this season while Williams, who Forest fans will be more than familiar with, had a stint at the City Ground on loan during the 2015-16 season.
“I like Naby a lot – he brings us something different, playing out from the back. He gets us going at times," Bowyer told South London Press.
“I hope he stays but because of this embargo we’re under we can’t offer contracts to senior players yet.
“With the young kids we can, but not the senior boys – because of the embargo.
“We would sign Naby whether we were in the Championship or League One – but we can’t do it."
He added: “I don’t know when that will be lifted. I don’t know what is going on – I’ve stepped away from all that behind the scenes. I just want to keep us in the division and cross that bridge when we come to it."
Forest have already been heavily linked with a move for Lyle Taylor but for now his future remains up in the air.
Taylor has refused to play the final games of the season for Charlton, telling Bowyer that he did not want to risk injuring himself ahead of the transfer window.
But the Charlton boss was keen to make clear his disappointment that the 31-year-old has not been with the squad to aid their fight against relegation.
“I don’t want to talk about [Lyle]. Lyle is not here," he added.
"There’s no point dwelling on that. If Lyle was here, we would have been safe, 100 per cent. Lyle doesn’t miss the chances that we’re creating. "
He added: "But he ain’t here, so there’s no point talking about Lyle."
