Aston Villa have reportedly shown interest in signing Nottingham Forest ace Brennan Johnson, but we face competition and a significant price-tag to land him.
The 22-year-old was key in helping Forest secure promotion to the Premier League, and he bagged eight goals and three assists in 38 appearances in the top flight last season.
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With Villa looking to strengthen Unai Emery’s squad this summer as we try to build on the progression we enjoyed last season, speculation has linked us with a whole host of names already in recent weeks.
Now, according to both The Sun and The Telegraph, Villa have shown interest in signing Johnson, but with Brentford said to likely fail with their latest offer of £30m to try and prise the Welsh international away from the City Ground, it’s suggested that it could take a bid well in excess of £40m to force Forest to consider a departure.
While Johnson has shown his quality and certainly has plenty more potential to unlock, and there is little doubt that Emery would improve and develop his game further, question marks will perhaps be raised by some as to whether or not he’s worth such a significant fee.
As noted above, Villa have been linked with other targets who would bolster our options in the final third, and so it ultimately will come down to who fits into Emery’s system and style of play best, and who emerges as the most realistic and smartest option to bring in this summer.
Time will tell if that is indeed Johnson, but with the report suggesting that we’ve merely shown an interest up to this point, it remains to be seen if we follow Brentford’s lead now and with their bid in mind, put in a formal offer to try and convince Forest to green light an exit.
Emiliano Buendia established himself as our chief creative playmaker under Emery last season, but with doubts over Philippe Coutinho given his injury problems and the inconsistency of the likes of Leon Bailey and Bertrand Traore, it’s surely an area we’ll look to address in this transfer window.
