Brennan Johnson may not be old enough to remember her father playing at Nottingham Forest, but she is sculpting her own legacy at City Ground.
David Johnson retired from football in 2007 after an impressive career as a striker, with Brennan just six years old at the time.
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Johnson has been a star performer this year at Forest
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He is sought after by many Premier League clubs
Fifteen years later, his son is about to take Forest to the Premier League – live on talkSPORT this Sunday – and one of the most coveted players in the world.
The striker is wanted by Newcastle, Tottenham, Everton and Brentford.
So even if Forest doesn’t win promotion to the play-off final against Huddersfield at Wembley, he will likely be in the top flight next year after a stellar season.
The Welsh international was born in Nottingham and grew up idolizing David Beckham.
He qualifies to play in Wales through his mother’s Rhayader family.
Johnson was only five months old when Beckham scored that famous free kick against Greece, but he wants to emulate his former hero with Walez’s red card and help his country reach the World Cup.
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Beckham actually meets the father of the Forest star, as they were both at Old Trafford at the same time.
And the former Man United and Real Madrid superstar kept in constant touch with David and followed Brennan’s progress from afar.
The 21-year-old has been in Forest since the age of eight and has advanced to City Ground Academy.
Finally, after impressing the Forest youth team, Sabri Lamouchi gave him his debut in the championship, the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.
Unfortunately, things did not go well for Lamouchi and he was fired.
Chris Hughton came in and Johnson was sent off.
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Lamouchi saw something special in Johnson
Now, that could have been a blow to a player who potentially thought he would be in the Forest first team last year.
But this loan to Lincoln City under Michael Appleton turned out to be the catalyst for his career.
He made 43 appearances for the Imps, scoring 11 goals and 13 assists, and Appleton was impressed by him.
He said: “I would be surprised if there was no more Premier League interest in the summer, three or four clubs, if not more.
“There were some things that stood out with Brennan. He has a rhythm and he’s very direct. or go back, but it always seemed positive.
“The biggest compliment I can give him is that I used him in five different positions. We played him on both sides of a striker, we played him as number 9, as number 10 and even seven games where we played him as number 8 in the middle of the field.
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Johnson’s loan last season did him good
“We knew we had someone who is not only very talented and knowledgeable, but also very adaptable, intelligent and has the right attitude. He was always among the two or three with whom it would cost him to get out of training camp.” .
During this loan with Lincoln, Wales decided to act quickly and handed the striker his first cap.
The Dragons did not want England to sink or Johnson to end up in a situation similar to his father’s, as they tried to cover up David in the 1990’s only to find that he was ineligible.
Since then, Johnson has won nine games for Wales and impressed Joe Ledley: “Brennan is a very exciting young player who is definitely ready to make the move now.
“It’s been great for Nottingham Forest and you’ve seen what he can do this season.
“I think Robert Page had him on the team at the right time. We’ll see if he starts, but if he’s on the bench, he can certainly get on the pitch and make an impact.”
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Steve Cooper has allowed Johnson to be the main creative spark on his side
These could be a couple of crucial weeks for Johnson, who can first help Forest in the Premier League and then take Wales to the World Cup.
However, after returning from that successful loan period, Forest endured a horrible start to the year.
Luckily, Steve Cooper replaced Hughton and Johnson has been a revelation.
He has scored 18 goals and provided nine more assists as Forest has reached the championship play-off final on Sunday.
Even Roy Keane was stunned by the Welsh international when the Tricky Trees beat Arsenal in the FA Cup in January: “He is a talented kid.
“No doubt many teams are watching him and we’ll see if Forest can hold him.
“He is interested in seeing how it is against a complicated team. It has a bit of a rhythm and it’s complicated. “
Ultimately, the sky seems to be the limit for a player destined for the Premier League this summer, with or without Forest.
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