Brentford have reportedly joined Wigan Athletic in the race for the Preston North End midfielder Daniel Johnson.
Wigan are understood to have had a loan bid for the 26-year-old rejected at the end of July, while Preston are thought to value the player at £1.5 million.
The Latics may still come back with another offer for Johnson but it appears they will face competition from Brentford.
According to Football Insider, the Bees have expressed an interest in the Jamaican midfielder as Thomas Frank looks to add some more quality to his squad before the transfer window closes on Thursday.
Despite adding five assists and seven goals for Preston last season, Johnson was an unused substitute in the side’s opening weekend loss to Millwall.
The 26-year-old has been a consistent performer since he arrived at Deepdale in January 2015, scoring 31 goals and providing 18 assists in 185 appearances.
A product of the Aston Villa academy, Johnson never made a senior appearance for the Midlands club and joined Preston permanently after loan spells at Yeovil, Chesterfield and Oldham Athletic.
Brentford have been busy this summer, with five new signings arriving at Griffin Park and eight players departing since the end of the 2018/19 season.
They suffered a 1-0 defeat to Birmingham City in their opening game of the new Championship season and may feel that the addition of Johnson could provide them with some extra attacking impetus.
The Verdict
I’ve been impressed by a lot of Brentford’s business this summer and I think this could be another really interesting move.
With Romaine Sawyers joining West Bromwich Albion in the transfer window, the Bees could be looking at Johnson as a potential replacement for him.
He is similar to Sawyers in that he is an attack-minded midfielder who is also comfortable playing in a deeper central midfield role.
Preston’s 14th-place finish was slightly disappointing last season but Johnson’s production in Alex Neil’s side was impressive and he could be a good pick-up for Brentford, especially for just £1.5 million.