Brennan Johnson features on Newcastle United's list of potential replacements for Allan Saint-Maximin, The Daily Mail's Simon Jones reports. 

The lowdown

Saint-Maximin, Jones writes, is expected to leave St James' Park when the summer transfer window opens. The Magpies will then reinvest the funds from his exit into their planned 'rebuild'.

Johnson is only under contract for another 14 months with Championship promotion hopefuls Nottingham Forest.

Aged just 20, the Wales international has scored 14 goals and provided seven assists in 39 league appearances this season.

The latest

Newcastle officials, led by Steve Nickson, have already 'compiled reports' on Johnson as they run the rule over potential additions on the flanks.

However, Jones does caution that the club will face 'fierce' competition for his signature.

Another player on their radar is Bayer Leverkusen's Moussa Diaby, but he too is highly coveted.

The verdict

It's no surprise that a multitude of clubs are interested in Johnson. He's Forest's top scorer and he ranks joint-eighth overall in the Championship goal charts, despite being a winger rather than an out and out forward.

As for assists, he's second for Steve Cooper's side (behind Philip Zinckernagel) and again in the top ten for the division as a whole.

To put those figures into perspective, as of April 9, he boasts at least eight more goal involvements than any other player aged 21 or under in England's top four tiers.

He's already earned nine senior caps for his country and will hope to feature at the Qatar World Cup at the end of the year if Wales secure qualification.

Johnson, who's been mentored by David Beckham, has inevitably earned some reviews. For instance, the 'old-fashioned winger' was dubbed a 'beautiful footballer' and a 'super, super talent' by sports journalist Josh Bunting. Newcastle should be delighted if they win the race.

In other news, Keith Downie has an update on Eddie Howe.