Nottingham Forest have opened contract talks with in-form midfielder Ryan Yates as they also battle to keep in-demand Brennan Johnson this summer.
Forest aces Yates and Johnson will only have one year left on their contracts this summer .
The duo have both shone for Steve Cooper’s side in their rise up the Championship.
Yates,24, who is 6ft 3in, has made 31 League appearances and scored four goals in central midfield.
While Welsh international Johnson,20, has been in brilliant form this term with 10 goals and six assists in the League which has sparked interest from Brentford and Spurs.
The pair's futures are now coming into focus ahead of a potentially decisive summer.
Forest want to tie Yates down on a new three-year deal to avoid losing him in the summer in a cut-price exit after he last signed a contract back in 2019.
The club’s young American CEO Dane Murphy is spearheading a move to tie down their best talent with Johnson a priority.
Premier League Brentford unsuccessfully tried to sign attacking ace Johnson in January.
Now Johnson’s father, David, the former Forest striker, has confirmed talks this month over a new deal took place with Reds' owner Evangelos Marinakis in London.
David Johnson said: "We knew Brennan was always going to stay through the January window. That was the fact of the matter.
"I spoke to the owner and had a very good chat with him down in London. He was fantastic. He came across really well.
"He told me how he sees the club and its future.
“We said great, we'll carry on talks and let's sit down and try to get something sorted by the end of the season, but it's so busy it will probably be by email or something.
"That's where we're at. Everyone thinks it's like deadline day and you have an hour to agree the contract.
"It's not. The club take their time. We're in no rush and everything is going really well.
"The club have been brilliant and we'll get there in the end.
“At this minute we've not agreed a contract.
“We're not close, we're just talking.
“He's really happy playing under this manager. He's been fantastic and so have the players by the way.
"Hopefully we'll see what happens in the summer. Brennan has ambitions of playing in the Premier League, but what's he's good at is, he'll go there when he's ready.”
Suitors for Johnson include Spurs after his success this term following his breakthrough on loan at Lincoln last season under Michael Appleton.
Appleton said recently: “Brennan’s going to be a superstar, we know that.
“He’s proven that this year, stepping up a level going back to Forest.
“It’s not if he is going to play in the Premier League next season? It’s who he’s going to play in the Premier League with next season? I think that’s the question.
“He was massive for us.
“Brennan provided that bit of stardust that you need to be successful.”
