Those behind the scenes at the Nottingham Forest academy would have been delighted to see Brennan Johnson’s crowning Europa League moment, but it might’ve been bad for the club.
Forest fans were proud of Johnson, who, after suffering plenty of criticism from Tottenham fans since his move to the club, scored the goal that ended their 17-year wait for silverware.
There had been whispers that Johnson could return to Forest and end his turbulent spell in North London, but he will surely stay now after writing himself into the club’s history.
However, the moment wasn’t all positive for Forest, as Johnson’s goal may have a damaging knock-on effect on Evangelos Marinakis’ summer transfer plans.
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
Brennan Johnson just impacted Nottingham Forest’s striker hunt
Forest plan to spend serious money in the summer to inject more talent into a side that will compete in European football next season.
A striker is a priority for Forest to support Chris Wood, with Liam Delap of interest to Marinakis as a forward with a combination of Premier League experience and room to grow.
Unfortunately, though, Manchester United are also interested in Delap, and Johnson’s goal to deny the Red Devils the Europa League could see them ramp up their pursuit of the Ipswich Town man as they would struggle to convince Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres to join without Champions League football.
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A report by The Mirror before the final said: “Wednesday night’s Europa League final is expected to have a notable bearing on the future of Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres as Arsenal and Manchester United continue to probe for the highly-coveted Swede’s services.
“[…] The Sporting hotshot wants to win trophies and compete at the highest level in the Champions League and if United fail to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition next season, Arsenal will be well placed to beat their rivals to the punch should they decide to pursue a deal.”
Delap would be the next best target for United, leaving Forest scrambling to complete a deal for the striker who has plenty of Premier League suitors.
Two more Premier League clubs have joined the Liam Delap race
Unsurprisingly, Delap’s £30m relegation release at Ipswich has made him a wanted man, with Forest and United now competing with two more top Premier League sides for his services.
According to The Guardian: “Chelsea and Newcastle are providing fierce competition for Manchester United in the race to sign Liam Delap, who will hold discussions with all of his suitors before deciding who to join when he leaves Ipswich this summer.”
With Chelsea and Newcastle involved, it only heaps more pressure onto the final day of the season, with all three clubs competing for the final Champions League places.
Forest play Chelsea to ramp up the stakes even higher, with the winner potentially in a stronger position to make a move to compete with United for Delap’s signature.