Opinion: Why Nottingham Forest need to fight tooth and nail for 27-year-old in the summer to shape transfer strategy

Championship outfit Nottingham Forest tirelessly pursued two main wing targets during the January transfer window, with Brennan Johnson previously being heavily linked with a move to Brentford.

They launched multiple bids for both Millwall’s Jed Wallace and Blackpool’s Josh Bowler last month, with Steve Cooper’s men seemingly failing to make a real breakthrough for either in what may have been a disappointment for the East Midland side.

This may have been seen as especially disappointing for the Reds considering they were so successful in recruiting other players during the winter, though this failure to get a deal over the line may not end up being costly if they can keep Welshman Johnson fit and firing for the remainder of this term.

For Forest though, it would have been another permanent player through the door, something that can only be a real positive for them considering they already have five loanees at their disposal, with a sixth in Jordi Osei-Tutu being recalled by Arsenal.

In fairness to the play-off hopefuls, they moved to recruit a higher proportion of longer-term players last month as opposed to targeting temporary deals again, with Jonathan Panzo, Steve Cook, Richie Laryea and Sam Surridge all arriving permanently.

Aston Villa’s Keinan Davis is the only loanee to have joined in January – and that was probably influenced by boss Cooper who publicly expressed his wish to rely less on the loan market in future.

And it’s clear to see why – because the likes of James Garner and Djed Spence are unlikely to return to the City Ground in the summer unless they are promoted to the Premier League – something that certainly isn’t guaranteed.

Considering the duo, Davis, Philip Zinckernagel and Max Lowe have all been