Leeds United transfer chief Victor Orta has revealed that his club tried to sign Nottingham Forest star Brennan Johnson when he was 16.
Johnson has progressed through the Forest academy ranks since the age of eight, breaking through into the first team 10 years later. Just two years before his senior debut, though, he could have been making the switch to Leeds.
Orta, who is director of football at Leeds, was talking to Marca about his method for looking at young players. He has hinted that, at 20, Johnson is already too old for them as they hunt for young players.
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"Like Brennan Johnson now, he is a Welsh international again, the best young player in the English second division.. Already he is 20. He has rejected Brentford from Forest. My model was to have reached Brennan Johnson when he was 16 and we tried. But it could not be."
Orta also revealed that winger Florian Jozefzoon "took the wrong train" by signing for rivals Derby back in 2018. Leeds tried to sign the former Ram.
"With Jack Harrison, for example. Luckily it's gone pretty well," Orta continued. "We had Harvey Barnes locked down, he decided to go to West Bromwich on loan at the very last moment. We had Jozefzoon, but he took the wrong train and he went to Derby."
