Nottingham Forest are confident of signing Djed Spence from Middlesbrough if they can win promotion to the Premier League, with Football League World understanding that the fee could be somewhere between £15-17m. 

Spence has been a revelation on loan from Boro this season, making 37 appearances, scoring two goals and registering four assists, providing Steve Cooper with width and energy on the right.

Quite what the future holds for Spence at Middlesbrough remains to be seen, with the 21-year-old still under contract at the Riverside Stadium despite the growing Premier League interest in him.

It's been explained to Football League World that if Forest can secure Premier League football in the coming weeks, they will be confident of landing Spence's signature.

The confidence of that happening is continuing to grow, with the Reds able to afford the £15-17m outlay given what promotion would mean financially.

Football League World have also been told that Forest would be able to fight off top-flight interest in Brennan Johnson in the event of promotion, with the academy graduate destined for the Premier League next season one way or another.

Johnson has scored 15 goals and registered 10 assists in the Championship this season, proving to be the attacking driving force behind Forest's push for promotion under Cooper.

Forest sit third in the table heading into tonight's clash with AFC Bournemouth, who are second.

Cooper's side are three points adrift of the Cherries and know that victory on the South Coast tonight would move them into an automatic promotion place heading into the final day on Saturday, essentially leaving a place in the Premier League in their own hands.