Nottingham Forest to refuse offers for Brennan Johnson amid Newcastle and Aston Villa interest

Steve Kay

• Updated: 11 May 2023 14:32 BST
• 3 min read

Exclusive

Nottingham Forest will refuse offers for Brennan Johnson if they stay up this season but a number of Premier League sides have registered an interest in the attacker, FootballTransfers can reveal.

As we exclusively reported last summer, Johnson signed fresh terms with the club as they headed back into the Premier League, amid speculation that he was being eyed up by some rival clubs.

He agreed to a deal with Forest that would see him remain at the City Ground until 2026. It was a reward for his spellbinding form in the Championship last campaign where the 21-year-old played a total of 52 times in all competitions, scoring 19 goals and providing a further nine assists.

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Johnson is hugely fond of the club - he’s an academy graduate who’s made a name for himself under the stewardship of Steve Cooper. We hear that Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Newcastle have been looking at the winger - but Forest will be hugely reluctant to see him leave.

Relegation will be a factor

Of course, relegation could change matters - but the club’s stunning 4-2 win over Southampton last week has put safety relatively in their hands, with the Midlands side now three points above the drop-zone.

Exc: Told that Brennan Johnson is undergoing contract talks with Nottingham Forest following the conclusion of their promotion-earning season and the club are confident of getting the deal tied up soon.

— Jacque Talbot (@jac_talbot) June 18, 2022

Forest are fully focused on their next Premier League match away to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. At the moment, the club are looking to maintain their Premier League status, and they will not sound out potential targets until they know which league they will be playing football in next season. They have Arsenal away after their game against the Blues, before a final match away to Crystal Palace. It’s a tough run but the likes of Leeds and Leicester also have some tricky fixtures. Southampton are already effectively relegated.