A Championship trio of Oxford United, Stoke City, and Swansea City are all interested in signing Scottish full-back Max Johnston who had been a target for League One Birmingham City and Luton Town earlier in the window.
With the Championship 2024/25 campaign now underway, we will now have an idea of what level of quality each team is currently at.
Many teams opened up the season in the perfect way, whereas many struggled and will look to the rest of the transfer window to help bolster their sides for the rest of the season.
Stoke and Oxford were two sides that opened up positively, with wins over Coventry and Norwich respectively. However, Swansea left much to be desired in an away defeat to Middlesbrough.
Any of these three sides could have a new addition soon, with a huge Scottish defensive talent set to make the move to the Championship.
Johnston Drawing Championship Interest
According to Pete O’Rourke, A trio of Championship clubs including Oxford United, Stoke City, and Swansea City are interested in signing Sturm Graz defender Max Johnston, as the defender is set for a loan move in the Championship for the season.
The 20-year-old began his career in his home country, playing for Queen of the South, Cove Rangers and most memorably, Motherwell before he made the move to Austria.
He began his career with Sturm Graz in the second team to establish himself in the new environment before he went on to make 29 appearances for the first team and impressed but struggled to cement a first-team position.
However, at such a young age, this is not a massive worry at all as he is still very much at the beginning of his playing career.
To ensure he gets more game time this season, Graz want to send the Scotsman on loan to get him some much-needed minutes in a competitive league, and it looks like the destination will be the Championship.
The player had reportedly gained interest from League One giants Birmingham City as a potential loan option with Oxford and Luton Town named by the Sky Sports journalist as potential suitors.
Where Will He Go?
With the three teams in question being interested, it will be a difficult task for Johnston to ensure he gets first-team football consistently this season.
Swansea have Josh Key in that area who is set for a fantastic year after an injury last year. Oxford also have Sam Long in that area, with Stoke chasing a potential return for Ki-Jana Hoever at the same time as pursuing Johnston.
Oxford is likely his best chance at starting in the Championship this season, but patience at the other two clubs as well as some luck could see him steal the starting spot there too.