Chelsea came close to signing new Tottenham forward

Chelsea suffered a second defeat of the season as they were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.  

Anthony Elanga’s second-half goal was enough to earn Steve Cooper’s side all three points, leaving Chelsea in the bottom half of the Premier League table after four games.

New arrival Cole Palmer made his debut for Chelsea, just 24 hours after joining the club from rivals Manchester City.

The England under-21 international joined the Blues on deadline day in a deal worth £42.5 million, and it has now emerged that the West London club came close to completing another significant move.

According to French publication Foot Mercato via The Mirror, Chelsea had reached an agreement to sign Brennan Johnson from Forest, before the forward ultimately joined rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Johnson, 22, joined Spurs on Friday for a fee of around £47 million, but the report claims that the Blues had previously reached an agreement to sign the player before the proposed deal collapsed.

Johnson has joined Tottenham but was also a target for Chelsea

The Welshman played a crucial part in helping Forest to gain promotion to the Premier League last year, and he has also impressed in the top flight.

In total the forward has scored 29 goals in 109 matches for Forest across all competitions, including eight goals in 41 Premier League games.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou was keen to add a forward to his squad following the departure of talisman Harry Kane to German champions Bayern Munich earlier this month.

Since Kane’s departure, Richarlison has struggled in front of goal, and the Brazilian has scored just once in the league for the club since joining last summer.

Johnson wasn’t involved in the Lilywhites’ 5-2 victory over Burnley on Saturday, but the Wales international will likely make his debut for his new side when they face Sheffield United after the international break.