Brennan Johnson to Tottenham. Explained.
I don’t know about you but Tottenham signing a young Welsh winger says to me we’re in for great things and are going to win it all. Welllll maybe not quite (yet who knows) but Spurs and mainly Ange Postecoglou have got their man. Brennan Johnson.
Johnson has enjoyed a rapid rise in the senior game since his breakout loan spell at Lincoln in the covid affected 20/21 season, where he managed to get 16 goal contributions (11g 6a) in their play off final reaching season where they just fell short of Championship football to Blackpool.
After that phenomenal first season in senior football at only 19 years of age, there was no way Johnson would be playing anywhere else bar Nottingham Forest – the club he’s been at since the age of 8. I guess you could say he done well for his first full season as a senior for Nottingham Forest. Just the 16 goals and 10 assists in the Championship campaign which saw the reds return to the Premier League for the first time since 1993. Stuff dreams are made of and that writes your name into folklore.
That leads us to now. 3171 Premier League minutes later, Brennan Johnson is a Tottenham Hotspur player. So for a high transfer fee, what is the Welshmen good at? not so good at? and why did big Ange want him so desperately? I attempt to answer all those questions below.
To note. This piece won’t feature his data from the 22/23 season this is all pure eye test. Forest had the lowest average possession % of all Prem teams last season, and with his role defensively and offensively I don’t feel like I am the person to try break down and contextualise his numbers with maximum efficiency, as I believe they’re an inaccurate representation of his game which I will go into more in this piece.
Johnson’s use tactically.
Forest predominately set up in a 4–3–1–2 with either Awoniyi or Chris wood as the 9s, with MGW playing as the #10 and Johnson in second striker/right winger hybrid role where he’d be tasked to provide width when necessary but also be a threat in behind inverting when Forest looked to play more direct into the 9s, this would also allow for former Spurs man Serge Aurier to provide width and have licence to get forward when necessary. Johnson stretched play well when needed, posing a threat in behind with out to in runs but also in to out runs giving himself space to drive with the ball, but also create space for others to attack the box and maximise his crossing/cut back ability. On occasion Johnson done a good job at pinning defenders offensively opening up passing lanes from central areas – whether that’s a CB or CM – to wide areas maximising full use of the width, which in results forces defensive line to stretch.
Out of possession Johnson had a lack of responsibility defensively, he’d often be the furthest forward providing Forest with an outlet to use in transition, making the most of his lightning speed and acceleration. In tighter games you’d see him deployed as a RM in a 4–4–2 where he was comfortable given that task of holding players out wide and showing them down the line. His ability to block passes into central areas and all round defensive awareness is something that impressed me, constantly scanning to give him a clear picture on the defensive end. He tracked back to help out Aurier when he was put into 2v1 situations, making it a 2v2 which he defended well.
Johnson from set pieces wasn’t used as a player that would be a threat aerially, defending set pieces he would be left up as the outlet 35–40 yards out. From corners he would be hanging on the edge of the box for a short corner or seconds where he would look to work it back into the box with a cross or pass or just a straight shot like we saw against Leeds United back in February providing Forest with an important goal and an important 3 points against a then relegation rival.
Johnson’s physical profile.
Johnson has your fairly typical build for a footballer, lean but muscular, not too tall but not too small. I don’t look at Johnson and notice anything that can give him that significant gain physically, purely to the eye. So I won’t be commenting like ‘wow he has tremendous torso length.’ Nah.
That being said Brennan Johnson is comfortably one of the fastest players in the Premier League, he has elite acceleration, and maintains that speed over long and short distances. His dribbling style which I will go into further on the piece is warped and designed to maximise his running power completely. He de-accelerates as quickly as he accelerates which gives him the platform to be able to chop and change running speed, close down players, and control loose balls running out of player. For a fairly tall player 5ft10 (1.78m/178cm) he is nimble and can change direction very well, he doesn’t have that turning radius and smoothness on the turn of say someone like Manor Solomon but he isn’t no bum when changing running line or quickly turning. Under contact is a big one, Johnson, not to sound like your dad, gets proper stuck in, he doesn’t shy away from contact OFF the ball. He’s happy in those messy lose ball situations where players battle shoulder to shoulder and sprawl arms and go a bit frantic. Johnson is comfortable in those game states, it’s on ball where I think Johnson can use his strength and body better. He doesn’t really look to drive his body in to players or use his arms to fend off opponents pressure, that being said Johnson only needs a split second to gain separation down to his acceleration and speed but at times I felt he succumbed to pressure and was someone that defenders had joy against when just getting into him. Really think if he maximised his arms to just gain that small percentage he’d leave even more defenders in his dust. I didn’t see much of his leap/jumping as he didn’t compete for many headers but I’m fairly confident Brennan possesses/has the room to possess a very good leap on him due to having good explosive capabilities (accelerating, de accelerating, agility.) I’m sorry if you’re a biomechanics hater, or i’m not sorry if you’re a biomechanics lover but Brennan Johnson’s step count and control (if that’s a thing) is really good and sets him up really well to get shots, crosses and cut backs off well.
Johnson’s technical profile.
As I ended the physical profile talking about his running ability, I’ll tie it in and start the technical section speaking on his dribbling/ball carrying. Johnson on the ball when dribbling is most dangerous with space to receive and attack where he looks to use bale esque knock and runs vs defenders. A great example of this is from a game vs Southampton where Johnson made Armel Bella Kotchap look like a rag doll and resulting him coming off injured. This makes the most of his sprint speed these heavier more pronounced touches allow him to make the 1v1 duel more of a foot race than a 1v1 duel built on ball and man manipulation. The welshman’s number 1 way of winning duels out wide is to receive and take slower lighter touches with his instep coming inside at a diagonal before changing his running line with a quick explosive step matched with a heavier touch - which in reality isn’t a heavy touch it’s a prep touch — to hit the byline for a cut back and cross. With rotations common you do get to see him do this in the half spaces in the box and out wide, which is VERY good for a player coming in to play ‘Ange Ball.’ I do think 1v1 he isn’t jaw dropping he comes with his weaknesses in that area. I personally believe he lacks variety in 1v1 situations he doesn’t look to use skill/ball control to beat his man, he’s fairly two footed so he can check back in and cross and play off his left but he doesn’t use it enough for it to be a seed in the defenders head. I.e. Heung Min Son yes he has elite ability on both feet but he uses them to create unpredictability which gives him more control in these situations, this is something I want Johnson to use more of however playing devils advocate this may be instructions from the manager. As well as looking to come inside more I’d like to see Johnson use the ball roll with his right foot more 1v1. A few times 1v1 he looked to square up opposition defenders and using a not so threatening looking ball roll to go inside before making most of his agility and acceleration and cutting back the other way to hit by line, it’s a very jinky movement and could/should be something he looks to use more as he’s not your flairy 1v1 winger. There was times where he shown his ability to use lighter, closer, tighter touches when dribbling but it’s not very often.
The aforementioned moment where Johnson embarrasses Bella Kotchap.
Despite not demonstrating the soft touches when dribbling Johnson’s all round plah in tight areas is good, he’s able to control awkwardly placed passes that are slightly off the ground, firm zippy passes along the floor, combine quickly with team mates with neat lay offs and passes these actions predominantly was seen with Morgan Gibbs White. I do think now he’s in a system where it’s more ball dominant, quicker and players are encouraged to combine we will see another side to Brennan’s game that really flexes his speed of thought and good decision making especially in split second moments.
Quick recap of those million words. Brennan is a direct winger who thrives with space to attack, using his frightening acceleration and speed. In my opinion he also has room to improve with his dribbling, and developing the ability to beat players 1v1 with skill will take his attacking game to the next level. There was also glimpses of a player that can play neat intricate football, but time will tell if that is a fair assumption. Carrying on.
Fortunately Brennan Johnson isn’t just a Welsh Adama Traore he has good quality in the final third, and traits that translate well for a winger playing under Ange. I’ll start with his crossing and cut back ability. Hands down where a lot of his value lies. To explain why Johnson is such an effective crosser of the ball you just need to look back to his dribbling technique and style, this gives him the platform to execute these high quality actions. The slowing down of defenders before exploding to the touch line with a ‘heavier touch’ isn’t accidental it’s premeditated that heavier touch is a prep touch – prep touch = final touch before a player more times shoots but also applies to crossing – instead of changing direction exploding to touch line with a few touches then taking a prep touch and running out of space, Johnson cuts the middle man and just opts for the heavier touch giving him sufficient space and a good angle to pick out a cross. Johnson is also a heads up player so his decision making and pass selection in the final third is excellent 9/10. From cut backs he mainly uses a wedged type technique where he cuts down on the ball at angle looking – contact usually at top of foot near ankle which means less chance of an inaccurate cut back due to their being less ankle movement – to find the late runner or player on the edge of the box, the cut backs have good accuracy and enough zip on it to give his team mates a good opportunity. When crossing from wider areas the 22 year old consistently hits the “corridor of uncertainty” with the instep which generates ample curve and power for a defender to attack for an easy chance of scoring. Playing with Taiwo Awoniyi and Chris Wood for an entire season you have to have the ability to pick them out in the boxes from crosses, which once again Johnson can do very well this time using his instep but putting less weight and more lift to the cross allowing the 9s to attack the ball.
Breaking down end product in to two parts and this will feature finishing/ball striking and box movement. Johnson is fairly good in-front of goal but has room to improve, he consistently strikes the ball cleanly using the instep with power, instep with placement and striking with laces, these shots more often that not find the target and corners but I do think he can take it up another level to have that killer instinct. To me at times I do believe he lacks composure and can be a bit rushed in his decision making causing him to blaze or shank a shot every now and again, to become more patient when shooting in big moments will certainly improve his goal output. Now I believe he is a very good finisher from cut backs specifically first time finishes, these were a common sight in Forest’ promotion season but since playing in the Premier League football to me Johnson’s movement in the box leaves a lot to be desired. He didn’t look to create space for himself with explosive attacks of the front or back post, clever pull back movements to create separation from defenders, it all felt to me very static and half hearted. He can be an effective player in the box 100% I just believe the fine details need to be touched up. More intense clever movements and composure in front of goal and maybe we could see the development of Johnson becoming a nine, especially under Ange.
Summary: Johnson is a rapid winger with good quality in the final third, with very good crossing ability and an eye to find his man from cut backs. He’s not just limited to crossing, he’s also got an eye for goal especially from cut backs but also has room to develop in composure in front of goal. He also has his strengths tactically, he’s very aware due to him constantly scanning which gives him the platform to be an effective player at cutting of passing lanes whether that’s to wingers or inside to midfielders. Tactically going forward he can pin defences to create space, whilst also make runs from out to in across defenders blindside and in to out to create width and make the most of his strengths from wide areas. Has good receiving skills possessing a nice first touch on both feet to give him maximum control of the ball, his play in tight areas is something we don’t see lot of but we will see under Ange so his ability will be tested. That being said, where do I think we will see him play for Tottenham?
Johnson at Tottenham.
How he fits at Tottenham is a difficult question to answer. Johnson’s game suits a transitional style rather than a possession heavy style, Spurs and Johnson will face low blocks more often than not as the season goes on, something that Johnson doesn’t suit. He’s not going to pick apart a compact low block with his lack of top end 1v1 ability and all round creativity on the ball. Positionally he can fit in at Tottenham and play a similar role to the one he had at Forest, looking to start in half spaces and go inside to attack open spaces in the defence. The recent 2–0 win vs Bournemouth would be a game that would’ve fit Johnson to a tee. A more back and forth affair with lots of space and transitional opportunities. Richarlison also generated a lot of space in behind for runners by playing a yard or two off of the front line causing defenders to follow and open themselves up defensively. This season we are seeing Porro being an inverted full back, allowing Kulu to hug touchline line and create width with Porro underlapping and forming overloads out wide with the right 8. This is quite rigid, Kulu does have the ability to play inside but he’s certainly stronger creating width whereas Johnson is comfortable playing as a touch line hugging winger and one that can operate in the half spaces, this will allow Spurs to rotate more fluidly and have players in areas where they’re still comfortable.
Johnson as a #9?
I personally don’t see him coming in and instantly playing as a 9, Son is better at that and in the games I watched where Johnson was the 9 he appeared very isolated and didn’t have much of an impact on the game. He was very easy to mark out the game, he posed a threat in behind but that was about it, he didn’t show to feet to create space for other runners, didn’t support play out wide to create overloads nor did he have much of an impact on the ball when playing in the central corridor. So as a 9 right now I’d pass that offer and allow Sonny and Richy to have that role but maybe in the long term with more experience and development we could see Brennan Johnson as a 9 for Tottenham as at the end of the day he is still only 22 years old.
My overall thoughts.
Johnson wasn’t the type of profile I thought Spurs and Ange would be targeting I was expecting more of a creative 1v1 monster like Jeremy Doku or Armaund Lauriente, this is not too say I don’t like Johnson I think he’s a player with immense quality with age on his side he will only get better. I love his running it makes me feel nostalgic and reminisce about fellow Welshman and Spurs legend Gareth Bale. There is a lot to be excited about with this signing, I can’t pinpoint what Ange has in store for Johnson but with him being top of his list this summer for wingers I expect it will be something extremely promising for all involved.
Thank you so much if you’ve read this all, it means the world. I hope I’ve given you a good insight of Johnson’s game.
Thank you,
TSS
*Games watched. Everton (H), Leeds (H), Leicester (H), Southampton (H), Bournemouth (A), Tottenham (A), Chelsea (H), Man United (A)*
