Tottenham Hotspur signed their Harry Kane replacement quite late in the summer transfer window in the form of Wales forward Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest, spending a formidable £47.5 million fee to sign the 22-year-old to add more firepower to their attack.
In doing so, they also signed one of the most exciting young forwards currently playing in the Premier League. Johnson played a major role in helping Forest avoid relegation from the Premier League last season, scoring an impressive eight goals in the league to save them time and again.
The son of former Nottingham Forest forward David Johnson, the 22-year-old is versatile, unpredictable and has many tricks up his sleeve which Ange Postecoglou will aim to unlock for him to be an important member of the team. In Johnson, they are getting a multi-talented player who has shown promise and the ability to thrive at the top level.
What position does Brennan Johnson play?
The Welshman was able to prove himself as a highly versatile player at Forest, playing in a number of different roles for Steve Cooper’s side. Last season, he played almost all across the frontline – operating as a right-winger, left-winger, centre-forward and even as a no.10 if necessary.
He is able to adapt to different situations with ease and tweak his game to be affective enough in a number of different roles. For example, he scored five goals as a centre-forward last season, two as a right-winger and three as an attacking midfielder.
While he has never opened up about his best position, Johnson is probably at his most dangerous when playing just behind the no.9. One of his best traits is his ball-carrying ability and tendency to charge his team forward in counter-attacks, having had a higher average ball-carry distance last season than the likes of Marcus Rashford and Darwin Nunez.
Forest boss Cooper praised this trait of his, saying:
He is certainly good at it, ball-carrying. We should look at that stat in a positive way because it does show that he is being productive in terms of territory and getting up the pitch. That is one of his qualities.
Johnson probably gets the most freedom in terms of moving the ball forward as a no.10, because playing as a centre-forward could have him depending to finish off chances than kick-start them. Irrespective, he can operate in a number of roles and can be a versatile asset for Postecoglou’s side.
When it comes to opening up his style and what he can bring to the team, he said:
I think I’m a player who tries to excite the fans. I’m very direct. I’m very fast. I try to get the ball as far up as I can and try and get some goals and assists. But at the end of the day I just want to work hard for the team.
Is Brennan Johnson right footed?
The 22-year-old is so versatile and affective with his work that it is quite difficult to decipher which is actually his strongest foot. He has scored a lot of goals with his left foot, right foot and a few headers across his career since gaining prominence.
However, Johnson is actually naturally a right-footer who is much more dangerous when striking ball using that foot. A prime example to this was how he takes his penalty, taking a decent run-up before opting to strike the ball with his preferred foot.
How many goes did Brennan Johnson score for Nottingham Forest?
A major reason behind Spurs pushing so hard to sign the Wales international was because of how efficient he was in terms of scoring goals for Forest. A product of the Tricky Trees’ youth academy, the 22-year-old made his first-team debut for the side in August 2019.
He was then loaned out to League One club Lincoln City for the 2020-21 season and had his breakthrough season with them. The 22-year-old forward made 49 appearances for Lincoln in his only campaign with them, scoring 13 goals and providing 14 assists in all competitions!
He was immediately reintegrated into the Forest squad soon after returning to the club after his loan spell and started to impress from the campaign. Johnson had a brilliant first full campaign with Forest, scoring 19 goals and providing 9 assists for them in all competitions, including 25 goal contributions in the Championship to help Cooper’s side earn promotion to the Premier League.
In his debut campaign in the English top flight, he impressed and ended the overall campaign with 10 goals and three assists in all competitions. The Wales star made a few appearances this season before leaving Forest, having made 109 appearances for them across all competitions, in which he scored 29 goals and provided 12 assists.
How fast is Brennan Johnson?
Johnson is the kind of player who can be any manager’s dream because of his incredible ability to cause havoc in the counter-attacks or swift breaks. Indeed, the 22-year-old is absolutely rapid with the ball in his feet and loves to move the ball forward all on his own.
As a matter of fact, the Wales international earned the tag of the ‘fastest player of the Premier League’ in the 2022/23 season and overtook Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk in a certain metric that decides who is the most electric player in the league.
As per Opta, Johnson was clocked in to reach the fastest speed of 22.80 miles per hour for the Reds last season – ousting Mudryk’s 22.76 mph speed. This is mostly recorded by trying to record the speed a player reaches during a sprint or forward run to cover a certain amount of distance.
Johnson’s pace has been praised by his former trainer in Lincoln City head coach Michael Appleton, who described his speed as:
It’s one thing having pace but it is another thing knowing how to use it. When Brennan gets the ball, he always looks to turn and get forward. He never really passes up responsibility. A lot of young players now want everything to feet – not enough are prepared to run in behind but Brennan was prepared to do that, which I liked.
It’s quite clear that the Wales star is the whole package, who can be Mr. Dependable in Spurs’ attack and be deployed in multiple roles with Postecoglou. He might have had a memorable career at Forest, but it’s now time for Johnson to unleash his utmost potent to become one of the Premier League’s very best players in North London.