Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth will once again be the man tasked with carrying out the club's transfer business this summer, with the Magpies hoping to kick on next season by securing quality, ready-made signings.
As The Athletic revealed earlier this month, one man who is seemingly 'liked' by those at St James' Park is Nottingham Forest starlet, Brennan Johnson, with the explosive Welshman among a crop of attacking targets who could be considered in the near future.
The 21-year-old was reportedly of interest to Tynesiders last year ahead of the start of the current campaign, with the Independent reporting that the northeast side were one of the clubs to hold talks with the youngster's representatives.
As the report outlined at the time, the Nottingham-born speedster was valued at around £20m-£25m after playing a key role in the Garibaldi's promotion campaign, although with that fine form having continued this time around, CIES Football Observatory now values the 18-cap gem at around £35m.
The "wonderful" talent - as hailed by national team boss, Robert Page - would certainly add further depth to Eddie Howe's attacking ranks, while also proving an asset who could be relied upon for the long term due to his relative youth.
How would Johnson fit in at Newcastle?
Having typically lined up on the right flank under Steve Cooper so far this term, Johnson could well represent a notable upgrade on current Newcastle winger Jacob Murphy in that position, despite the latter man having been a regular fixture during Howe's tenure.
The 28-year-old has featured more frequently than any other player since the arrival of the former Bournemouth boss, although has largely been restricted to a substitute role in that time, starting just seven league games so far this season.
While the £35k-per-week man is "so important" to the Magpies - as journalist Chris Waugh recently noted - that positive impact has rarely been matched by a reliable end product, as the experienced asset has just six goals and ten assists to his name in 139 games in all competitions for the club to date, including just one goal and one assist in all competitions this season.
Although, ironically, Murphy did impress against Forest last weekend to ease the loss of the stricken Miguel Almiron, after racking up five key passes, it remains to be seen if the Englishman will be a long-term solution beyond the end of the season.
Johnson, by contrast, has been in fine form so far this term having scored seven goals and laid on two assists in the top-flight to date - as well as registering two goals in five Carabao Cup outings - after previously contributing 28 goal involvements in all competitions last season.
A player with undoubted searing pace, like Murphy, the 5 foot 10 ace has been lauded as "arguably one of the best counter-attacking centre-forwards in the Premier League" by Page, with Howe likely to be keen to utilise such a devastating weapon on the flanks.
That quality is also laid bare by the fact that the "unbelievable asset" - as dubbed by Page - notably averages 1.1 successful dribbles and 0.8 key passes per game in the league this season, while the current Magpies man averages just 0.3 and 0.5 for the same two metrics, respectively.
Johnson would also be able to provide the benefit of his flexibility to be able to feature all across the forward line and in a playmaking role if required, with that versatility an attractive prospect as far as Ashworth and co are concerned.
While poaching the in-form asset clearly won't come cheap, it does appear that the City Ground sensation could represent a real upgrade for Newcastle.