Nottingham Forest striker at centre of transfer hint amid shock £50m claim

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Birmingham City boss Lee Bowyer has hinted that he may try to sign loan striker Lyle Taylor permanently from Nottingham Forest in the summer.

Taylor, who joined Forest's Championship rivals in January, has scored four goals since making the winter move to quickly establish himself as a fan favourite at St Andrew's.

The 32-year-old was absent for Blues' last two fixtures due to injury but returned to Bowyer's squad on Sunday afternoon and scored in a 1-0 win over local rivals West Brom. He showed no nerves when he stepped up to convert a second-half penalty.

Asked about the possibility of retaining the loan player, whose contract runs out in June 2023, Bowyer wouldn’t be drawn - other than to express his admiration for a player he also managed at Charlton Athletic.

"He has good mobility, he does everything that I want from a striker," he told BirminghamLive.

He added: "This is a question for Craig [Gardner] and the board. We will see what the situation is come the summer but for as long as we have him here, we have to enjoy him. I am and I know he is enjoying being here. Hopefully, he keeps scoring goals and helping us win games."

Newcastle United may look to spend any money taken from the sale of Allan Saint Maximin to buy Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest, it has been claimed.

Johnson has burst onto the scene this season as the Reds bid for promotion back to the Premier League. He has so far recorded 19 goal contributions in 37 games this term and is attracting big interest from Premier League clubs. In January, Forest refused to sell the youngster as Steve Cooper's side chase a top six finish.

Johnson netted his 12 and 13th goals of the season in Forest's most recent win,