Chelsea have held talks with Nottingham Forest for £50million-rated forward Brennan Johnson.
The 22-year-old Wales international was the subject of club-to-club talks last week and is on Chelsea’s shortlist after Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise turned down a move to Stamford Bridge.
Olise has signed a new four-year deal at Selhurst Park leaving the Blues chasing alternative options for Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino wants at least one more attacker and Johnson was discussed as part of a potential swap deal with Trevoh Chalobah last week.
Chalobah is set to reject a move to the City Ground as he wants a move to a higher-level club but the Blues could now return to complete a standard permanent transfer.
Brentford have already had a club-record £35m bid rejected for Johnson, while Tottenham are also monitoring the forward.
Forest insist Johnson, who is under contract until 2026, remains part of their plans but his suitors believe they can drive down the asking price to £40m.
Any sale will be unpopular among supporters but Forest are tempted to balance the books after spending £150m on 27 players last season, putting them among the top five spenders in world football.
Chelsea also sounded out Ajax’s attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus and Celta Vigo playmaker Gabri Veiga earlier in the window.
