When Tottenham Hotspur needed a game-changer at half time of Saturday\u2019s home match against Luton Town, Ange Postecoglou looked to Brennan Johnson. The Welsh winger had made an impact in several matches for Spurs, but the impression he made in the comeback win over Luton was more profound than anything he\u2019d produced before.<\/p>\n
Johnson registered the assist for Son Heung-min\u2019s winner. He also opened up the game to favour Tottenham and their contingent of attackers who are most effective when they can play in quick transition. Until Johnson\u2019s introduction, Spurs\u2019 attacking play had been laboured. With the Welshman on the pitch, though, it was free flowing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still young, he\u2019s developing,\u201d said Postecoglou about Johnson. \u201cHe\u2019s moved to a big club where there\u2019s big expectations when you have a big transfer fee, but for the most part I think he\u2019s handled it really well. He\u2019s another one understanding more and more how we want to play and he\u2019s adjusting to it. Like I said, for the most part he\u2019s handled himself really well this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Signed from Nottingham Forest for \u00a347.5m last summer, it wasn\u2019t immediately clear what Tottenham\u2019s plan for Johnson was. He\u2019d enjoyed a successful first season in the Premier League at the City Ground, but many believed Spurs had overpaid for a player who still played with a certain rawness.<\/p>\n
Postecoglou, however, has worked hard to develop Johnson\u2019s game. He hasn\u2019t done anything to diminish the natural explosiveness possessed by the Welsh international, but Johnson is playing with sharpness and clarity in the final third. He is making better decisions when he has the ball in high-value areas.<\/p>\n
Tottenham under Postecoglou are a work-in-progress. There\u2019s no denying the strides forward they have taken as an attacking outfit. With Postecoglou at the helm, Spurs have earned a reputation for being one of the most entertaining teams in the Premier League. Supporters have embraced the Australian coach for this reason.<\/p>\n
Defensively, there are still weaknesses for Postecoglou to address and questions have been asked of Tottenham\u2019s squad depth. The North London club now has a platform to build on, though. Even if Spurs miss out on Champions League qualification, Postecoglou has established a style of play that should sustain the club for years to come. He has completely changed the culture.<\/p>\n
On a fundamental level, Postecoglou is exceptional at identifying the qualities of a player and working to fit them into a system in a way that pushes those qualities to the forefront. Johnson is just one of several examples of this. His career will benefit for having worked under the Tottenham Hotspur boss.<\/p>\n
In the post-Gareth Bale age, Johnson is already a key figure for Wales. He was a driving force for Rob Page\u2019s side as they came within a penalty shootout of beating Poland to qualify for Euro 2024. Of course, it\u2019s unlikely Johnson will ever fully replace Bale for Wales, but he has given the national team a different dimension.<\/p>\n
The verticality provided by Johnson has also given Tottenham a different dimension, as was clear in the way they fought back to win against Luton Town. Johnson gave Spurs some much-needed width and helped stretch the opposition defence. His presence allowed the North London outfit to go from front to back in a quicker manner – as they did for the winning goal.<\/p>\n
Spurs signed Johnson as a bet that he would develop into a key figure, but he has already made that progression in the space of a single season. Johnson won\u2019t start every match for Tottenham. Postecoglou will continue to rotate him in and out of the team. As long as he\u2019s on the pitch, though, the Welshman will make an impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Tottenham Hotspur needed a game-changer at half time of Saturday\u2019s home match against Luton Town, Ange Postecoglou looked to Brennan Johnson. The Welsh winger had made an impact in several matches for Spurs, but the impression he made in the comeback win over Luton was more profound than anything he\u2019d produced before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":54847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[272],"class_list":["post-56318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-featurehome"],"yoast_head":"\n