Nottingham Forest will do ‘everything’ to keep forward Brennan Johnson this summer, according to journalist Dean Jones.
The Lowdown: Standout performer
The Telegraph report that the Midlands outfit turned down an £18m club-record offer from now top-flight rivals Brentford in January 2022, which resulted in the 21-year-old putting pen to paper on a new contract later that year.
The Wales international has worked his way up through the academy ranks at The City Ground from the U18s side to now becoming a regular feature for the first team, where he has been praised by countryman Steve Cooper for his impact in the Premier League.
The Reds boss has shared that he’s set his attacker the challenge of developing other aspects of his game aside from goalscoring, which will only improve his all-round skill-set even further.
The Latest: Jones’ comments
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones revealed that Forest are super keen to retain Johnson’s services in the long term, and suggested that he is one player who they will want to shape their team around.
“There’s been, obviously, so much upheaval that they need to try and have some consistency in their line-up, and this turnover of players obviously has to stop at some point.
“They don’t want to lose him, and I think they’ll do everything to keep him at the club for at least another year.”
The Verdict: Keep hold of him
Johnson has been described as a player who’s ‘easy on the eye’ by his former Lincoln City manager Michael Appleton, and Forest need to do everything they can to keep hold of him for the foreseeable future.
The Nottingham-born talent has posted 37 goal contributions in 88 senior appearances for his side and currently ranks in the 88th percentile for most progressive carries per game, highlighting his prolific impact and desire to make a difference in the final third.
Rob Page’s 18-cap international also offers Cooper plenty of versatility with his ability to operate in four different positions, which is an impressive attribute to have at such a young age.
Johnson will undoubtedly have a significant role to play in Forest’s fight to stay up for the remainder of the campaign and it’s important that they do because it wouldn’t be long until potential suitors started circling should they get relegated.