Nottingham Forest young Brennan Johnson caught Chris Hughton’s attention not only during his loan period in Lincoln City.
The 19-year-old has been in glowing form for the Imps this season and recently raised his goal to 12 with a hat trick against MK Dons – the first triple of his professional career.
Reds boss Hughton has been closely monitoring his progress and personally watching him against Burton Albion on Tuesday night.
But Johnson’s sparkling performances are said to have drawn attention from elsewhere as well.
The Premier League outfits Burnley and Leeds United are said to have kept an eye on the Welsh international back in January.
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And it seems that they are continuing to follow its development.
The Clarets, along with Brentford and at least two other high profile clubs, have “watched Johnson closely,” according to The Athletic.
Forest reportedly estimates the teenager at around £ 10 million, but he has two years left on his contract.
And Hughton has said he can be in the running to secure a first-team spot at City Ground in 2021/22.
“If we have young players who are doing well, that’s why you loan them out,” he said.
“You are sending them out on loan so that they can come into your mind and you can consider them.
“But in the end the biggest consideration will be that we have a really tough championship season next year – and if anything, this division will be tougher. And what I want is the most competitive squad I can to keep up.
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“If the young players we talked about who came back after the loan did well enough to adjust my thinking, that’s because it’s the right thing to do.
“All of these decisions are decisions that we will think about a lot.
“Most importantly, they turned out well and got into the reckoning.”