Tottenham News Scout: Tottenham should spend Harry Kane cash elsewhere amid Brennan Johnson links
Tottenham News is delighted to welcome Matthew Chadder as our exclusive columnist for our ‘Spurs Scout’ features. Each week, he’ll be providing his expertise on researching players to give insight on the biggest talking points at Spurs…
Daniel Levy and Tottenham have a £100million hole burning in their pocket after selling club-record goalscorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
Despite what some fans might think, it is never easy to operate in the transfer market when clubs around Europe know your budget. After the very public exit of Kane, everyone knows that Tottenham have money to spend, and all of a sudden their targets will have now doubled in price.
While they have made a very positive start to the season on the pitch, winning twice and drawing once, this has perhaps overshadowed the fact that there is still a big mess off it. Ange Postecoglou has too many players in his squad, yet at the same time, not enough in some key areas.
While outgoings should now certainly be the priority, it can’t be ignored that there is still a lack of depth across the forward line. Most of the players considered ‘deadwood’ and in need of shifting are full-backs and midfielders, with the likes of Sergio Reguilon, Djed Spence and Tanguy Ndombele all surplus to requirements.
Meanwhile, Richarlison is currently Spurs’ only senior striker and there is little competition for Dejan Kulusevski on the right wing. A target has therefore been identified who is seen as key to fixing that issue.
As reported by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano via Twitter (28 August), Tottenham are getting ready to discuss a deal with Nottingham Forest for Brennan Johnson during the final week of the transfer window.
Postecoglou himself has approved the move, which Romano has described as “not easy.”
Here, Spurs Scout has had a look at Johnson and decided whether or not Tottenham should make a move for him.
Superpower – Versatility
Tottenham currently have very few players across their frontline who can demonstrate versatility and operate effectively in different areas. Richarlison showcased last season that he is ineffective from wide areas, while Ivan Perisic is a makeshift winger.
Son Heung-min can play through the middle and is specialised at cutting in and causing danger, while Kulusevski is brilliant at drifting inside. However, neither has so far shown that they are suited to playing as a wide winger who hugs the touchline, which Postecoglou requires.
This leaves Spurs’ boss with a problem because if one or two of his forward players pick up injuries, he doesn’t have players who can fill in and cover the gaps.
And this is exactly where Johnson comes in. Last season, he played absolutely everywhere for Nottingham Forest as he helped keep the East-Midlands side in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old played through the middle 14 times, as a right-winger 11 times, as an attacking midfielder seven times and as a second striker five times (Transfermrkt).
Johnson was rarely playing in the same position week in, and week out and is therefore used to filling in across different attacking positions, which could make him very useful in North London.
Weakness – Not ready
While he is very versatile, his actual impact from the positions he takes up suggests he is not yet ready to make the move to a ‘big six’ side. At the age of 22 and with just one season of Premier League football under his belt, he still has plenty of developing to do and this is supported by his stats from last season.
The Wales international was in the first percentile for a range of passing statistics, meaning there were no forwards in the division worse than him when it came to these particular metrics. These included the number of passes he attempted (15.49 per 90), the number of passes he completed (8.93 per 90), his pass completion rate (57.6 per cent per 90), and his total passing distance (129.45 yards per 90).
In possession, he was also in the lowest percentile in regard to some statistics, including his number of touches (24.72 per 90) and number of touches in the middle third (9.48 per 90). Even going forward, where he would occupy the majority of his positions, he was only in the fourth percentile for the number of times he touched the ball (13.31 per 90).
Finally, on the ball, he was not particularly threatening during the limited times he did have possession. He ranked in just the 29th percentile compared to fellow forwards in the Premier League for the number of take-ons he attempted (2.70 per 90) and just the 24th percentile for the number of times he was successful with those take-ons (1.01 per 90).
Where would Johnson fit in at Tottenham?
A combination of his underwhelming stats and versatility suggest that he would be a backup option and nothing more, should he arrive at Hotspur Way this summer.
It is hard to see him replacing either Son or Kulusevski in the team, due to their superior quality and vast experience, while he wouldn’t offer much of an upgrade on Richarlison, despite the Brazillian’s struggles so far this season.
If he is to arrive as a squad option with the view to him learning and developing over the next few seasons, it wouldn’t be such a bad move, but it is hard to see Levy splashing the cash for someone who is not going to make an instant impact.
How much would Johnson cost?
As reported by Sky Sports News in their live transfer column (28 August, 4:11 pm), Spurs are yet to make a formal approach, however, Forest don’t want to sell and will therefore only consider offers in the region of £50million.
While everyone is aware that money in football has gone mad and players are now worth considerably more, even this seems a bit far-fetched.
It means that Tottenham would have to come close to matching their club-record fee to bring Johnson in and this just does not seem worth it.
Should Tottenham sign Johnson?
For the price that is being reported, this is a move the club should absolutely not be considering as it would see half of their Kane money being spent on a player with limited Premier League experience.
If the price was around the £25/30million mark, perhaps this would be worth pursuing, but versatility is only so valuable.
For that fee, Postecoglou would be better off promoting a player from the academy, after all, they would have almost just as much experience.
In other Tottenham news, the player ratings from Spurs’ successful trip to Bournemouth.