The Spurs ace has been fantastic under Ange Postecoglou this season.
Before the international break, Tottenham Hotspur were handed a reality check by Fulham, suffering a rather frustrating 3-0 defeat at Craven Cottage.
However, the Lilywhites’ Champions League dream got back underway this weekend after a fantastic performance against Luton Town.
Although the 2-1 scoreline doesn’t reflect a dominant performance, Ange Postecoglou will be pleased with the way his side bounced back from an early deficit to claim the vital three points.
The Australian will also be thrilled with the way one player particularly seized their opportunity to shine after being subbed on at half-time.
Brennan Johnson’s 23/24 campaign
After moving from Nottingham Forest to Spurs in the summer for a large fee of £47.5m, the pressure to succeed was almost instant for Brennan Johnson.
However, the boss has managed his minutes extremely well, playing the Welsh attacker in 26 matches, with 18 of those being starts.
Despite only being at the club for a short period, Johnson is already proving to be a smart signing, with his four goals and seven assists being a respectable output.
That said, the number 22 has been particularly impactful over the last month, picking up two assists against Crystal Palace and scoring the second goal against Aston Villa, but his performance against Luton Town yesterday may have been his best in a Spurs shirt.
Brennan Johnson is now undroppable after Luton Display
Yesterday, Tottenham went into the break with a one-goal deficit after a rather frustrating first half against the Hatters, and at half-time, Johnson was called upon by Postecoglou. The Wales international certainly didn’t let his boss down, putting in a performance that surely made him undroppable from now until the end of the season.
To put into context just how game-changing the former Forest ace was, the Evening Standard handed him a 9/10 rating, stating that “he immediately made an impact”.
The ace, who’s been playing on both flanks this season, played a huge part in both goals that eventually gave Tottenham the win, firstly putting in a lovely whipped cross that Issa Kabore slammed into his own net just five minutes after his entrance.
| Johnson’s Stats vs Luton | |
|---|---|
| Stats | Johnson |
| Assists | 1 |
| xG | 0.77 |
| Shots | 2 |
| Successful dribbles | 1/1 |
| Key passes | 3 |
| Ground duels won | 3/3 |
| Via Sofascore | |
Johnson continued to be Spurs’ biggest threat for the remainder of the tie, completing three key passes and adding intensity to the attacking play via his unstoppable dribbling.
The 22-year-old also won all of his ground duels and could have had a goal to his name had the ball not been cleared off the line. Luckily, he was on hand to set up the winning goal in the 86th minute, showing tremendous vision and composure to lay the ball off to Son Heung-min, who converted from near the penalty spot.
Johnson’s substitution certainly changed the game completely, and he will have surely worked his way into Postecoglou’s best starting lineup, with that right-wing role set to be his instead of Dejan Kulusevski’s going forward.
