The long-term future of Brennan Johnson continues to be a source of intrigue amid his fantastic form for Nottingham Forest this season.
Speculation over the player’s future refuses to go away, with Leicester City, Newcastle United, Tottenham, West Ham United and Crystal Palace among the clubs to be linked with the Wales international.
Brentford have a long-held interest in the player and had a bid rejected at the end of the recent transfer window.
Keen to hold on to their star asset, Forest are looking to tie the 20-year-old to a new contract, and talks have taken place between the club and Johnson’s father, David, the former Reds striker.
Johnson senior recently told NottinghamshireLive’s Garibaldi Red podcast that those talks have been positive and that more are planned before the end of the season.
"At this minute, we've not agreed a contract. We're not close, we're just talking," said David.
Brennan honed his craft and gained vital experience during a hugely successful loan spell in League One with Lincoln City last season.
The youngster was instrumental as the Imps finished fifth and reached the play-off final.
His manager at Lincoln, Michael Appleton – a friend of David from their days in the youth ranks at Manchester United – is sure Brennan will be a Premier League player next season.
He believes the question is whether that will be with Forest or another club.
Speaking at Lincoln fans’ forum this week, Appleton was asked about Brennan’s impact at the club last season.
“Brennan’s going to be a superstar, we know that. He’s proven that this year, stepping up a level [after] going back to Forest,” said Appleton.
“It’s not if he is going to play in the Premier League next season? It’s who he’s going to play in the Premier League with next season? I think that’s the question.
“He was massive for us. We had a lot of good players with us last year, the likes of Morgan Rogers [on loan from Manchester City], TJ [Eyoma], who we’ve been able to recruit [permanently from Tottenham], Alex Palmer [on loan from West Brom] in goal, then we lost the likes of Tayo Edun [to Blackburn] and Jorge Grant [to Peterborough], who made massive contributions to us last season.
“But Brennan provided that bit of stardust that you need to be successful.
“If you look at the top six, seven, eight sides [in League One], I don’t think they’ve got a Brennan Johnson, but they’ve got someone similar, a match-winner who scores goals.”
