Nottingham Forest star Brennan Johnson has been told to trust his support network around him in order to maintain full focus on Wales' Euro qualifier double-header amid a reported £30million bid from Brentford.
Johnson, 22, was arguably the standout Welsh star last season, banging in eight goals in the Premier League while helping Forest avoid relegation under Steve Cooper.
It has seen him linked with a number of clubs, most recently Brentford, who, it is reported, have table a £30m bid for his services. Some outlets report that Forest's asking price is close to £20m more than that.
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Having missed the March camps, in which Wales drew 1-1 with Croatia and beat Latvia 1-0 at Cardiff City Stadium, Johnson is set to have a huge impact in the upcoming games against Armenia (on Friday) and Turkey (on Monday).
Coming into such a camp with transfer speculation hanging over your head is no easy task. But it's not the first time he has been the subject of interest from Brentford. Indeed, the Bees were said to be keen on signing the forward last January, when Forest were in the Championship, and he held firm and stayed with Forest, which has proved a masterstroke.
And Wales boss Page believes Johnson made the right decision and will now not let Brentford's interest derail his focus ahead of two crucial qualifiers.
"He is a great lad and I think he has got a great support network around him. I know his dad, I've played against his dad," Page said of the transfer speculation surrounding Johnson.
"I was impressed with the way they conducted themselves in January (2022) when his head could have been turned and he could have had the opportunity to go to what was so-called a bigger club. He didn't and I thought he made the right decision for his development.
"I trust the people around him to give him good advice. He is a level-headed lad. He's sensible and his full focus will be on this game on Friday."
Indeed, captain Aaron Ramsey is no stranger to coming into a camp with speculation hanging over him. But the Nice midfielder believes Wales have built an environment which allows players to forget the outside noise and focus fully on the task.
"We’ve built a great environment everyone wants to be a part of," Ramsey said when asked about rumours regarding Johnson. "Over the last so many years we have put ourselves in positions to qualify for major tournaments.
"It's a great privilege and honour to represent your country. For every player here I'm sure that's the same and they will be giving absolutely everything.
"He is a quality player. He is always going to have that bit of noise around him, but he is focused and ready to put on that Welsh shirt."
On Johnson himself, Ramsey added: "The quality Brennan possesses, he’s very dangerous in behind. He has been showing that all season in the Premiership. Having him in the squad is only going to strengthen us. Hopefully he will be ready to go to give his best in the next two games.
"You’ve seen it all season in the Premiership. He is very rapid, poses a threat in behind and scored a few goals as well, his final product is very good.
"Hopefully he can be a threat for us in the coming games."
Another sub-plot to this camp is David Brooks.
The Bournemouth flyer is in line to play his first game for Wales in nearly two years, since the final game of Wales' Euro 2020 game against Denmark in June 2021, following his stage-two Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis and a hamstring issue last year.
He racked up some minutes for the Cherries at the back end of last season, but Page admitted it is unlikely he will be ready to start both games this weekend.
"It’s incredible what he’s been through. For us as a group he optimises everything that we want to be and represent," Page said.
"To go through what he's been through and to show the courage and determination he has is incredible. To get back involved with this group is not just good for us, it's good for him and the environment. He’s taken training to another level.
"It’s probably unrealistic to see him start two games but I'm sure there will be opportunities within the game to get him involved."
Speaking about Brooks, Ramsey added: "It’s unbelievable to have him back, to see him in training, doing sidesteps, cutting inside and scoring goals - he has got a massive smile on his face again.
"To have him around the camp, with what he's been through, it’s fantastic to see him back out there again. We all know the quality he has. It's great he managed to get a few games towards the end of the season. He is going to be so important going forward and qualifying for Germany.
"He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t ready. We’ve seen, last week in Portugal and a couple of days here, the quality he possesses, he can go past a player with ease. He is going to be massive for us.
"Just for him to be in and around it again, getting in amongst the boys, it’s great for him. I’m sure he’ll play a big, big part in this qualifying campaign."
Wales will be desperate to ensure they don't ruin what was an excellent start to their qualifying campaign back in January. Page believes the disappointing World Cup finals are out of their system and the mentality is shifting with in the squad.
“We have got the disappointment of the World Cup out of our system," Page said. "That point in Croatia felt like a win, to get that equaliser so late on. But it wasn’t just about the point - I would have been pleased with the performance in Croatia if we hadn’t got anything out of the game.
"Friday’s game, we can’t worry about the opposition too much. We have to respect them but it’s about us. If we can give a performance we’re capable of, we can be a match for anybody.
“Every game we go into, we want to win. We want six points. That’s our mentality going into it.
“You win your home games and if you get a point away you’re on to a good thing. The mentality in the changing room at the minute is that we believe we can go on to get the two wins.”
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