Tottenham still fancy 22-year-old star before the transfer deadline

Tottenham are now leading the chase for Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson.

Johnson, 22, has also attracted interest from Chelsea and Brentford but Spurs want to strengthen their attacking options before the end of the window.

But Forest’s £50million price tag is likely to be a major stumbling block as they look to balance the books on their spending since returning to the Premier League.

Tottenham are likely to be busy in the final days of the window with potential sales as Ange Postecoglou looks to balance the squad. But after selling Harry Kane to Bayern Munich for £100m, they have money to spend and also want forward options.

Johnson is highly regarded and a surprise departure but it will help Forest’s budget and cover their spending.

While Postecoglou may have identified Johnson as his priority transfer target ahead of Friday’s deadline, Spurs are still likely to face fierce competition from their Premier League rivals in the race for Johnson.

Former Tottenham favourite and current Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino is known to be an avid admirer of Johnson and could yet push for a blockbuster deal which would nudge the Blues’ total transfer spend under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital to just shy of £1bn.

It’s been claimed that Chelsea are keeping a close on developments involving Johnson ahead of next week’s deadline – and the Londoners certainly have previous for hijacking rivals’ transfers.

Speaking before Friday night’s impressive 3-0 win over Luton, Pochettino hinted that he is indeed looking to bolster his attacking options in the final days of the summer transfer window.

The Argentine also quipped that he will encourage any new attacker to take on the No.9 shirt – even though a whole host of players have endured miserable stints at Stamford Bridge after donning the doomed shirt.