100% duels lost: Leeds target drops awful display with Victor Orta watching on closely – opinion

Leeds are thought to be watching Nottingham Forest star Brennan Johnson, however, he had an afternoon to forget against Luton Town on Friday.

This forms part of our Transfer Watch series, where we react to a performance from a current transfer target.

Victor Orta confirmed last month that he tried to sign the Forest star for Leeds when he was just 16 years of age.

Johnson is now catching the eye in the Championship in what has been a breakthrough campaign at the City Ground, contributing to 22 goals in all competitions.

Journalist Pete O’Rourke revealed in the week that the Whites are watching the 20-year-old closely, however, Johnson struggled at Kenilworth Road in his latest performance.

Forest fell to a rare defeat on Friday but still occupy a play-off place with six games to go.

As per SofaScore, Johnson played in an attacking midfield role behind two strikers but struggled to make an impact, failing to complete a successful dribble and having just 26 touches all afternoon. Johnson also lost 100% of his duels, gave possession away 10 times and committed two fouls.

Even though Johnson failed to impress on Friday, he appears to be a shrewd target for the Whites, should Forest fail to earn promotion to the Premier League.

O’Rourke believes he could be a smart replacement for Raphinha, who is heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, and Johnson’s latest display appears to show he isn’t suited to an attacking midfield role.

The Wales international has had success on both wings and as a centre-forward in 2021/22 but has contributed to just one goal in five games as an attacking midfielder.

Therefore, although Orta may not have been impressed with Johnson on Friday, it could give him extra knowledge of where Johnson’s