Gary Brazil was full of praise for Brennan Johnson and believes the young Nottingham Forest forward has “a future ahead of him”. Johnson recently revealed in an interview that he’s hoping to break into the first-team next season after an impressive 2018/19 campaign, and Brazil is tipping the 18-year-old for success.
The Academy Director said: “Really excited for this young man. Made massive improvements this year working with a group of very committed staff. With continued hard work, Brennan has a big future ahead of him…..” Johnson scored 14 goals for the u23s and was a regular in the reserves for the majority of the season.
Martin O’Neill has said Johnson will join the first-team for pre-season training this summer, but whether he can nail down a regular spot in 2019/20 remains to be seen. Johnson has stiff competition for a starting place at Forest due to Lewis Grabban, Daryl Murphy, Karim Ansarifard, Hillal Soudani and Tyler Walker ahead of him in the pecking order.
Brazil’s comments show he has a lot of faith in the Wales u19 international, but O’Neill has a difficult decision on what to do with the forward this summer. Developing Johnson’s talent is paramount, but whether he’s better off in the u23s, being loaned out from the City Ground or on the fringes of the senior squad remains to be seen.
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