Steve Cooper makes Nottingham Forest claim on ace amid contract talks and Brentford, Leeds, West Ham interest

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has revealed he isn’t worried about star winger Brennan Johnson despite all the noise surrounding his future at the City Ground, speaking to the Mirror Online.

The 20-year-old has stepped up to the Championship seamlessly this season following a productive loan spell at Lincoln City last term, recording 10 goals and 15 assists in 33 league appearances during the 2021/22 campaign so far, heading into Friday evening’s fixture against Sheffield United.

Even before this season, he was the subject of interest from Premier League side Brentford and they retained their interest through to the winter window as they launched multiple bids in attempts to lure him to the English capital.

Those offers were unsuccessful – but speculation surrounding his future hasn’t stopped with Crystal Palace, Leeds United and West Ham United also thought to be monitoring his current situation in the East Midlands.

With his current contract at the second-tier side expiring in the summer of 2023, he is yet to commit to a new deal and this has only generated more noise as he continues to impress with the Reds.

Still a reasonably inexperienced player at 20, many people will be concerned about this potentially affecting his performances on the pitch, but boss Cooper isn’t one of those.

He said: “I don’t worry too much about Brennan because he is a very calm guy.

“He is quite interested in his football really and training well and getting ready for the next game.

“He will be looking at stuff from the last game he has done well and aspects to improve on. I don’t worry one bit about any side-shows going on around him.

“As for contract talks, I am sure there is stuff going on in the background but my job and Brennan’s