Luton Town boss Nathan Jones is on the radar of Sunderland – and his teenage full-back James Justin, a summer target for Forest, should be too.
Nottingham Forest may be watching the vacant managerial position at Sunderland with some degree of interest.
Because, if The Black Cats hand the reigns to Luton Town coach Nathan Jones, Forest’s hopes of landing one of the most exciting young defenders in the Football League could be severely dented.
The Sunderland Echo reported on Monday that the Wearside giants are considering 44-year-old Jones as a possible replacement for Simon Grayson at the Stadium of Light. The former Brighton assistant only took over The Hatters in January 2016 but led them into the play-offs last season.
So far in 2017/18, Luton are third in League Two and boast the proud record of being the Football League’s most prolific team.
‘Wonderful player’
It’s a player at the other end of the pitch who has been on everyone’s lips, however. 19-year-old full-back James Justin has earned rave reviews since emerging as a regular first-teamer at Luton under Jones’ tutelage.
“I know for a fact there’s plenty monitoring him, but James Justin is our player, and he’s a wonderful, wonderful player,” Jones admitted to Luton Today in the summer.
Forest were one of a number of clubs on the trail but, after lodging a £1 million bid, were disappointed to learn that Justin had committed himself to the League Two high-flyers until 2020, per the Nottingham Post.
It will be interesting to see whether speculation will rise up again, however, if his Luton manager takes over at Sunderland.
Though money is far from immaterial at the Stadium of Light, Justin would be an excellent investment and a player The Black Cats could make a huge profit on in the very near future.
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