Everton to table fresh bid for midfielder after opening offers rejected – report
By Will Butcher
Everton are locked in talks with Championship outfit Nottingham Forest to sign teenage midfielder Brennan Johnson, according to a report.
The Telegraph claim the Toffees have already had a number of bids rejected for the 15-year-old with Forest holding out for £1million, as he continues to shine for Forest’s Under-18’s side.
Director of football Steve Walsh is expected to enter negotiations for midfielder Brennan, as the Merseyside outfit scour the country for England’s leading young talents.
Son of former Forest and Ipswich striker David, Johnson is another youngster to excel in Forest’s renowned youth academy that has recent produced talents such as Oliver Burke, Ben Brereton and Ben Osborn.
Since the arrival of Walsh from Premier League champions Leicester, the Toffees have looked to bring in the country’s best young players and believe Johnson is among those.
The Toffees signed Ademola Lookman from League One outfit Charlton in January for £11million, and he has already broken into the first team after his debut goal against Man City.
Likely to be given every chance at Goodison Park to develop, Johnson will be hoping to emulate the likes of Tom Davies, Tyias Browning and Dom Calvert-Lewin in breaking into the first team.
Football Insider verdict:
For young players, Everton is the best Premier League club to play for at this moment in time. Ronald Koeman’s desire to blood his best young players has not only benefited the Toffees on the pitch, but is beginning to give them a better chance of attracting the country’s young talents to Goodison Park rather than going to the likes of Arsenal, Man City or Liverpool. However, midfielder Johnson will have his work cut out if he is to break into Ronald Koeman’s first-team set-up in the coming years, with Everton possessing an abundance of central midfield talent. Following the breakthrough of Davies and the January signing of Morgan Schneiderlin, the Toffees also have Idrissa Gueye, James McCarthy, Gareth Barry and Muhamed Besic to choose from in the middle of the park.
In other Everton transfer news, Koeman is keeping tabs on this Championship goal machine reportedly worth £15million.
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