Chelsea are reportedly at the early stages of talks over the potential transfer of Nottingham Forest winger Brennan Johnson.
Tottenham and West Ham are also said to be among the suitors for Johnson this summer, with Forest looking for around £45million to let the Wales international leave, according to the Guardian.
Johnson has been a key player for Forest in recent years, and it could be that the 22-year-old now has it in him to make the step up to a bigger club such as Chelsea or Spurs.
A dynamic attacker who can play either out wide or up front, Johnson possesses incredible technical ability and insane physical attributes.
The one thing that jumps out to you whenever you watch Johnson is his pace. He clocked the highest top speed in the Premier League at one point last season, outdoing the likes of Erling Haaland in the process, and his ability to get in behind defences is brilliant.
After watching Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling tear Liverpool’s defence apart at the weekend with runs from deep, we can’t help but salivate over the idea of a player like Johnson joining the party.
How Chelsea would fit Johnson in, however, is a bit of a mystery as the west London giants have so many attacking players already, and are continuing to work on signing Michael Olise from Crystal Palace, as per Fabrizio Romano.
The 22-year-old knows where the back of the net is too. He scored eight Premier League goals last season – not a bad haul for a team that was battling against relegation and barely created anything.
At the age of just 22, this is a young man with so much room to grow and improve, and with Mauricio Pochettino’s help, he could well turn into one of the Premier League’s top strikers.
Nottingham Forest won’t be keen to part ways with one of their own heading into a crucial season of consolidation, but the reality is that when a team like Chelsea come calling, it’s incredibly hard to turn them down.
With deadline day approaching, Chelsea need to hurry up if they want to get this deal done.
The Guardian claim things are still at an early stage for Chelsea and Johnson, so it remains to be seen if things advance beyond that, but the interest is clearly there.
Tottenham would also do well to bring Johnson in if possible, with new manager Ange Postecoglou inheriting a struggling side who’ve just lost star player Harry Kane.
