Nottingham Forest are willing to double Rico Lewis’s wages to sign the Manchester ace, talkSPORT understands.

Forest are keen to sign Lewis as well as teammate James McAtee and have opened talks with City over the England international.

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Lewis is believed to be mulling over the move.

The 20-year-old made over 40 appearances across all competitions for City last season, registering two goals and five assists.

However, he has slipped behind Matheus Nunes, a midfielder by trade, in the pecking order at right-back.

Lewis was even sent off in City’s opener against Moroccan outfit Wydad Casablanca at this year’s Club World Cup in June.

The 20-year-old was shown his marching orders in the 88th minute of City’s 2-0 win as his boot collided with his rival’s face in the follow-through from a tackle.

What is Guardiola’s verdict on Lewis?

Despite Lewis’ unfortunate moment against Wydad Casablanca, he has proved himself to be a player in Pep Guardiola’s good books.

Following City’s 4-1 win over Ipswich last August, Guardiola labelled the 20-year-old an ‘exceptional player’.

“I don’t know how (he does it), but he is always alone, and we can always find him,” Guardiola said.

“He is an exceptional player. He is an exceptional player, offensively and defensively. He can play in different positions, he helps us to play.”

Should Forest recruit Lewis, the youngster would join a defence that conceded only two more goals than City did in the 2024/25 campaign.

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Guardiola’s side shipped 44 goals in the league last term, their most since the 2009/10 season when they let in 45.

Forest’s tally of 46 conceded was enough to help Matz Sels share the Premier League Golden Glove award, given to the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in a season.

How good is Nottingham Forest’s defence?

The Belgian was a joint-winner alongside Arsenal’s David Raya, as they both kept 13 clean sheets.

Sels also made 120 saves, the fourth-most in the English top flight.

Forest’s steely backline was headlined by star centre-back pairing Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo, as their brute force proved pivotal to keep rival forwards quiet.

If Forest manage to snap up Lewis, he would compete with Ola Aina for the starting berth at right-back.

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The Nigeria international made 31 league appearances for the Reds last term and was even named in talkSPORT pundits Ally McCoist and Andy Townsend’s teams of the season.

Forest’s pursuit of Lewis comes as manager Nuno Espirito Santo bemoaned the lack of new signings just two days before their Premier League opener on Sunday against Brentford.

“Dealing with doubts is the worst thing you can have in football,” Nuno said.

“We have doubts, who is going to be [here], when are they going to come? All these things create doubts. Not only me, but in the club.

“What we want is game-by-game to have as many options as possible. Europe will come after, and for sure it will be better, but for now until that happens it is a major concern.

“The owner is aware, the club is aware, everyone is aware. Everybody knows the reality. This is a lot chance that we had as a group to do it.”