Former Nottingham Forest striker Nigel Jemson has labelled 20-year-old Brennan Johnson as someone who doesn't get 'carried away' in an interview with This is Futbol, after seeing the attacker get off to a fast start to the 2021/22 campaign.
Johnson has already recorded an impressive five goal contributions in 11 Championship matches for the East Midlands side this term despite their extremely poor start to the campaign - and is likely to continue being a key player for new manager Steve Cooper in the coming weeks and months after an upturn in the club's form.
He spent the previous campaign plying his trade in League One with Michael Appleton's Lincoln City, scoring ten times and registering 12 assists in 40 third-tier appearances last term as he took the Imps to within 90 minutes of Championship football.
Despite his former loan side's failure to reach the second tier, eventually losing 2-1 to Blackpool at Wembley in the play-off final, he was tipped to be a regular first-team player for a Forest side that scored just 37 goals in 46 league games last term, the joint second-worst attacking record in the Championship.
There was even the possibility that the 20-year-old would move on to the Premier League in the summer, with Brentford one of multiple Premier League sides in his services, according to the Independent.
However, ex-Forest forward Nigel Jemson has identified Johnson's level-headed attitude as a key strength of his, saying to This is Futbol: "I know Brennan very well. I’ve coached him at the academy, I’ve known him since the age of probably about 12. I always said that he’s one that was going to stand out and I’ve been proved right on that.
"He did get a bit of a knee injury when he was a bit younger but came through that with flying colours.
"I know his parents very well, you know, David Johnson will know how to treat Brennan.
"Brennan himself is a family man and he’s not that sort of person to get carried away. He’s knuckled down and I’m sure he’s enjoying his football now.
"He’s playing for Forest on a regular basis and he’s obviously in the Wales set-up now, so things are going really well for him."
The Verdict:
A transfer request from Brennan Johnson over the next few months would put a real dampener on what has been an excellent start under Steve Cooper, so this latest reveal from Jemson regarding his mindset will be much-welcomed news from the Forest faithful.
In fairness, he will probably be keen to spend at least one or two full seasons with the East Midlands outfit before moving on to the Premier League after graduating through their youth system and you can bet dad David will be wanting him to remain at the City Ground for at least a respectable amount of time.
The Welsh international, who now has four caps to his name, has the ingredients to become a magnificent top-flight player after adapting well to the Championship.
But his time will come at some point in the future. Right now, a season or two at Forest under a manager who has worked well with young players in the past will do him the world of good and this is why he needs to stay in the second tier for the time being.
It would be a disaster if he was to leave his starting spot at Forest to sit on the bench at a Premier League club, so patience is required from the 20-year-old and he seemingly has the correct mindset to make the right decisions.