View: Brennan Johnson is not ready to replace Harry Kane at Tottenham
Tottenham might need to identify a new striker to replace Harry Kane with the club’s record goalscorer clearly keen on leaving North London.
Bayern Munich and Spurs’ transfer saga over the England captain continues to drag on and while many are focussed on whether Kane stays or goes, not many seem focused enough on who is going to replace the striker.
Even if the 30-year-old stays beyond the transfer window, he could very likely leave for free next summer with his contract now entering its final year. Whatever happens between Daniel Levy and Munich, if Kane doesn’t sign a new deal, a new number nine will be required.
Replacing an academy graduate who came through the ranks at a club to become one of the world’s best forwards is a near-impossible task, yet it is a task Spurs will soon likely need to complete.
Kane has spent the best years of his career in the Premier League wearing the colours of Lillywhite and might easily go down as the club’s best-ever player. Who would want to follow that act?
There are options across Europe and within England who could potentially look to come in and try to lace Kane’s boots, although one of the names who is now being linked with that job is not quite ready to make that step and should be avoided.
As reported by Simon Jones in the Mail Plus Transfer Confidential (31 July), those at Hotspur Way are keeping an eye on Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson. Forest recently rebuffed Brentford’s £35million offer for the 22-year-old, with an offer of closer to £50million believed to be the key to unlocking any potential deal for the Wales international.
And for that type of money, Johnson should be avoided at this moment in time. Other forwards in Europe with more experience and ability are available for fees that are not much higher.
Of course, Johnson is homegrown and has experience playing in England’s top flight, which makes him an attractive option, but the stats suggest he is not ready to take on the role of a top-six club’s main man.
As per fbref, last season the forward scored 0.25 goals per 90, which placed him in the 60th percentile compared to his positional peers in the Premier League, and while these numbers should be taken with a pinch of salt due to the quality of the team he was playing in, a deeper dive into the stats makes for more concerning reading.
Johnson was in the 1st percentile for a range of passing statistics, meaning there were no forwards in the division worse than him when it came to these particular statistics. These were 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).
The numbers, therefore, suggest he has not done enough to warrant a price tag of £50million and the signing would be a massive risk. Spurs should look to target someone more established who could adapt quicker to the demands which will be expected of him from supporters if he is coming in to replace their beloved Kane.
In other Tottenham News, a star of the club’s women’s team has been knocked out of the World Cup.