Tottenham: Brennan Johnson has surely earned recall as Martin Keown calls him ‘special’ v Luton
Brennan Johnson has surely earned a recall to the Tottenham starting lineup following his performance against Luton Town on Saturday (30 March).
The Welsh international replaced Dejan Kulusevski at half-time when his side were 1-0 down after Tahith Chong had handed the Hatters an early lead.
But the 22-year-old helped inspire a second-half comeback for his side, claiming an assist for Son Heung-min’s late winner in the 2-1 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The winger’s impact didn’t go unnoticed as Martin Keown was full of praise for him on Match of the Day on 30 March, claiming he’s a “special” player and had a “major part” in helping Spurs pick up the three points.
“He’s a right-footed player, so everything that comes from him invariably is going to be a cross across the box,” said Keown.
“They paid £47million for him, quite a lot of money. But I just feel he’s a special player. He had the disappointment of not making it to the Euros this week with Wales, but it didn’t affect him.
“He plays a major part in ultimately the winning goal, which was tough on Luton because I thought they did really well.”
It’s been a decent first season at Tottenham for Johnson after making his big-money move from Nottingham Forest last summer.
The winger has registered four goals and seven assists in 26 Premier League appearances, but he will be looking to add more consistency to his game.
There have been signs lately that he’s doing just that, having scored one goal and laid on three assists in his past four matches despite only two of them coming as a starter.
His display against Luton has given him a chance to earn a recall after he made three key passes and completed his only attempted dribble [SofaScore].
The Welshman almost got on the scoresheet to go alongside his assist, but his effort was cleared off the line, while he also had a further shot blocked during the game.
While his pass success rate was slightly down at 71 per cent, that came as a result of him taking risks and looking to make things happen, having given the ball away seven times.
Those are statistics that Postecoglou will certainly be able to live with as he likes his players to get on the ball and show personality.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Johnson has now played himself back into the starting lineup for when Spurs head to East London to take on West Ham on Tuesday (2 April).
The only question will be on who he replaces in the lineup, but there’s a good chance it could be Kulusevski after the Swede made way for his teammate at half-time against Luton.
Whoever does get the nod, though, will have to be right up for it as the last thing the fans will want is for their London rivals to claim another three points over them following their victory earlier this season.
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