Player Watch Player Watch: Brennan Johnson

mr ashley · Aug 23, 2023

Nick-TopSpursMan said:
Will be typical Spurs to blow £40-50m on a player who doesn’t quite fit and isn’t at the level we need, in a key position. If we get the recruitment right out wide, our ceiling as a team will explode.

If we sign Johnson then imo we will still be looking for a winger in January or the summer once we realise he isn’t good enough. Except we probably won’t have the budget because we’d have blown £40-50m on Johnson.

From a different perspective, if we were told that we’d spent collectively on Bissouma, Sarr, Bentancur, udogie, Maddison, Solomon and Johnson (whatever that figure turns out to be), I think we’d all sit there and think ‘seems about right’. Most of those have turned out to be absolute bargains so fair play to our recruitment

So if it turns out we’ve overspent a bit on Johnson (and perhaps vdv and Porro- certainly Richarlison) then I guess we have to take the rough with the smooth.

personally I agree that nico Williams looks like the standout option at rwf (and diaby would have been good too).

But there is no denying that Johnson has desirable attributes. Much like Lennon I think it’s his acceleration rather than his top speed that is valuable here

I’m also intrigued by reports that jota is having his contract annulled in Saudi too because if he’s available I’m sure we would be interested (and linked too, previously?)

SandroClegane · Aug 23, 2023

yido_number1 said:
It championship and most goals are on the counter don't see how that correlates to what we will be doing

Wow I had NO idea this was in the Championship.

It's clear that this is a better showcase of his abilities, as part of a top team (relative to their competition). We will be attacking quickly, like Forest in these clips, transitioning from defence to attack and utilizing pace. He's making good runs and finishes in the six yard box, and also making great crosses from wings when he is in those positions.

JayB · Aug 23, 2023

mil1lion said:
You said that we spent the Bale money and yet we have spent more than we sold Kane for overall too. I simply stated the fact it was spent first on both occasions. I've said all along it doesn't matter what the Kane money is and what the rest of the budget is. It only matters what the overall budget is and how it was spent. We have to judge the overall window. In all honesty we don't know how it will work out but then no signings are certain to be good anyway. It seems very clear we have Vicario, VdV and Maddison as starters now. That's not bad by any means. You also have to consider that there's a lot more to it than this window alone. We have Udogie as a starter now too. We have young players from past windows like Sarr who is only getting better with age. Honestly things are not as bad as you're making out. I'm not saying a top player wouldn't be great by any means. I just think the shape of the overall squad is coming together well. I would be happy to get a couple more young prospects like Johnson to finish it off. Each to their own but we're in much better shape than the squad Poch started with and that developed into our best team in this league. We have another young squad now and the more potential we get the better. Only so many will come good.

My point is that the Kane massively impacts what the budget is, and also impacts the quality of player that we should be able to recruit as a result.

I'm all for bringing in young talents, I'm a huge fan of the players you've identified, and I agree that the squad is shaping up nicely. But there are major questions about our front line and the Kane money presents an opportunity to address those questions with a top-class player.

I sincerely hope that Johnson will come good if we sign him, but he's the sort of player we would be recruiting absent the £100m sale of our best player in the PL era. Young, unproven at the top level, at a club whose back is against the FFP wall. It's the sort of business we do every window, not the sort of business that the Kane sale enables. If we can do this deal while making substantial improvements elsewhere in the squad, great, but it's not sufficient unto itself IMO.

Tucker · Aug 23, 2023

mr ashley said:
From a different perspective, if we were told that we’d spent collectively on Bissouma, Sarr, Bentancur, udogie, Maddison, Solomon and Johnson (whatever that figure turns out to be), I think we’d all sit there and think ‘seems about right’. Most of those have turned out to be absolute bargains so fair play to our recruitment

So if it turns out we’ve overspent a bit on Johnson (and perhaps vdv and Porro- certainly Richarlison) then I guess we have to take the rough with the smooth.

personally I agree that nico Williams looks like the standout option at rwf (and diaby would have been good too).

But there is no denying that Johnson has desirable attributes. Much like Lennon I think it’s his acceleration rather than his top speed that is valuable here

I’m also intrigued by reports that jota is having his contract annulled in Saudi too because if he’s available I’m sure we would be interested (and linked too, previously?)

Guess it depends on why they are cancelling his contract.

fishhhandaricecake · Aug 23, 2023

A good comparison is when Liverpool signed Andy Robertson from Hull.

Now you can guarantee that none of their fans were overly excited about that and will have been saying the same things some on here are about spending a lot more money on a more established player etc etc, but Robertson went on to be an incredible player for them helping them to win PL, CL etc, £3.5mil from Hull City.

Sometimes young hungry players with the right attitude with a bit of PL experience already can go up a few more levels at a better team playing in a more attacking system with better players around them.

I think Johnson could be one of those.

Also usually I’m all for max quality in every position but with no European football we really do need to be careful because if we sign too players it’ll just damage the squad morale. Sign Johnson who can cover ST & RW and we’d essentially have 6 good options across the front 3 not even including Gil, Veliz and possibly Scarlett once they’re ready to get a few minutes here and there.

Ange will not only know what he is looking for in a new player but also what he wants in terms of the overall squad balance etc.

mr ashley · Aug 23, 2023

Tucker said:
Guess it depends on why they are cancelling his contract.

Yes, exactly why I’m Intrigued.

it’s probably the mullet

Joshua · Aug 23, 2023

Frozen_Waffles said:
Really cannot grasp the negativity on here.

He is rapid, fantastic in one on one's. We don't have this type of player. Think Walker but with actual end product.

He's technically gifted, very calm and uses the ball well, which in combination with his pace is incredibly rare.

He's a good finisher, for me his future is at CF, but as both a RW and a CF he offers something we don't have.

Hardworking and HG as a bonus. For me, even if he weren't HG I'd still sign him. 22yo with massive potential.

I also think he starts sooner rather than later, but off the bench he is a fantastic option. Not a no Brainer, but less than 40m and with a player exchange would be a great deal for us.

He’s really not and it’s massive issue if he’s being signed to play wide. I’d have less concerns about him playing as a striker but I’d be worried about the ball sticking with him. Can I ask where you’ve got this opinion from as well? I’m Welsh so have watched him plenty, and his statistics don’t show that either.

mil1lion · Aug 23, 2023

JayB said:
My point is that the Kane massively impacts what the budget is, and also impacts the quality of player that we should be able to recruit as a result.

I'm all for bringing in young talents, I'm a huge fan of the players you've identified, and I agree that the squad is shaping up nicely. But there are major questions about our front line and the Kane money presents an opportunity to address those questions with a top-class player.

I sincerely hope that Johnson will come good if we sign him, but he's the sort of player we would be recruiting absent a £100m sale of our best player in the PL era. Young, unproven at the top level, at a club whose back is against the FFP wall. It's the sort of business we do every window, not the sort of business that the Kane sale enables. If we can do this deal while making substantial improvements elsewhere in the squad, great, but it's not sufficient unto itself IMO.

Well it's not in itself is the point. Unless we forget the signings we've already made and like I said 3 of whom are clear starters. Maddison for one is a big improvement in midfield. Too early to say on the others. It's just whether our scouting will pay off. I'm not sure which big name players we could realistically sign. Young prospects who can develop into top players is our best approach. If we sign 2 or 3 more then it's more than we would have done without selling Kane. It's doing the same business we would do anyway but just doing more of it. It's all well and good talking about who we should sign but is there any top player who wants to come? I'm not sure there is but young prospects are there for us. This one seems to be a player we've scouted for some time and is available for us.

fishhhandaricecake · Aug 23, 2023

JayB said:
My point is that the Kane massively impacts what the budget is, and also impacts the quality of player that we should be able to recruit as a result.

I'm all for bringing in young talents, I'm a huge fan of the players you've identified, and I agree that the squad is shaping up nicely. But there are major questions about our front line and the Kane money presents an opportunity to address those questions with a top-class player.

I sincerely hope that Johnson will come good if we sign him, but he's the sort of player we would be recruiting absent the £100m sale of our best player in the PL era. Young, unproven at the top level, at a club whose back is against the FFP wall. It's the sort of business we do every window, not the sort of business that the Kane sale enables. If we can do this deal while making substantial improvements elsewhere in the squad, great, but it's not sufficient unto itself IMO.

Very fair points.

I think a big issue mate is Richarlison.

Say in theory we wanted to sign Vhalovic instead of Johnson, well then Richy goes back to being a full time back-up and no doubt about it he would be very pissed about that, he’s Brazil’s n.o9, we paid £60mil for him, we’ve only given him 2 starts in a new system where we’ve not created a ton of chances for him etc etc.

If we splash the Kane cash on a top top quality replacement and not having europe this season I think the overall squad balance then has a bit of an issue. But in principle I completely agree with your point.

Perhaps if we say sold Perisic and signed Vhalovic and Richy was back-up to Vhalovic and Sonny and Solomon also covered RW & LW but then we are a bit lighter on overall options and Perisic has looked absolutely class in this system so far…

Really tricky puzzle but can see how B.Johnson could fit into the current puzzle quite nicely and if we also spent a decent chunk on another CB then saw how things went until Jan with a bit of money kept back for then but really without European football we can’t have a near record club signing £60mil Richarlison sitting on our bench most weeks again, it wouldn’t be good for us or for him. Options to replace and challenge him sure but not outright keep him out the team every week, I think he deserves that and he’s also got a long contract left so we kind of have to give him at least this season to prove himself as no one will pay what we’d ask for for him right now and I’m sure he and the club want to try and make it work anyways.

Daredevil · Aug 23, 2023

It’s a little weird being called Brennan most of my life (my last name) and now seeing that name all over SC for the first time.

The part about not being as good at football as everyone would like is very familiar though…

Tucker · Aug 23, 2023

mr ashley said:
Yes, exactly why I’m Intrigued.

it’s probably the mullet

He does look a lot like wham era George Michael.

fishhhandaricecake · Aug 23, 2023

Joshua said:
He’s really not and it’s massive issue if he’s being signed to play wide. I’d have less concerns about him playing as a striker but I’d be worried about the ball sticking with him. Can I ask where you’ve got this opinion from as well? I’m Welsh so have watched him plenty, and his statistics don’t show that either.

I wouldn’t say he’s fantastic at 1v1’s but he can beat a man with a turn of pace or bit of skill, he certainly would add some ingredients to our attack that pretty much none of our others options offer currently that’s for sure.

Frozen_Waffles · Aug 23, 2023

JayB said:
My point is that the Kane massively impacts what the budget is, and also impacts the quality of player that we should be able to recruit as a result.

I'm all for bringing in young talents, I'm a huge fan of the players you've identified, and I agree that the squad is shaping up nicely. But there are major questions about our front line and the Kane money presents an opportunity to address those questions with a top-class player.

I sincerely hope that Johnson will come good if we sign him, but he's the sort of player we would be recruiting absent the £100m sale of our best player in the PL era. Young, unproven at the top level, at a club whose back is against the FFP wall. It's the sort of business we do every window, not the sort of business that the Kane sale enables. If we can do this deal while making substantial improvements elsewhere in the squad, great, but it's not sufficient unto itself IMO.

Just out of interest, who do you suggest, who is a top class player to replace Kane.

I can't think of any off the top of my head. Here are the top scorers in Europe last season...

The only player I can see who is even close to that class is Martinez, and even then trying to pry him from Inter or persuade him to come here would be tough and probably cost a fortune.

I haven't seen Johnathan David, so I can't judge but who else is there? The options up top are limited. For me Brennan is a clever purchase.

I also get very worried about trusting players who do well in the French League.

JayB · Aug 23, 2023

mil1lion said:
Well it's not in itself is the point. Unless we forget the signings we've already made and like I said 3 of whom are clear starters. Maddison for one is a big improvement in midfield. Too early to say on the others. It's just whether our scouting will pay off. I'm not sure which big name players we could realistically sign. Young prospects who can develop into top players is our best approach. If we sign 2 or 3 more then it's more than we would have done without selling Kane. It's doing the same business we would do anyway but just doing more of it. It's all well and good talking about who we should sign but is there any top player who wants to come? I'm not sure there is but young prospects are there for us. This one seems to be a player we've scouted for some time and is available for us.

Every single transfer we've made thus far is something that we should have done anyway even if we'd been able to convince Kane to extend his contract. Vicario was a budget-rate alternative at a position that we had no choice but to address, VdV is the long sought-after CB signing that we've needed since Jose was at the club chasing after the likes of Skriniar, Maddison finally replaces Eriksen three and a half years after Eriksen left, and Veliz is a teenager in the one-for-the-future bracket. The others who have been brought into the side (Udogie, Sarr, Bissouma) were already at the club.

Selling Kane presents an opportunity to go beyond the usual signings that we make every window in the ordinary course of business and to bring in real quality. I don't know who the big-name signings are, but I'm not a scout. I do know that clubs throughout Europe are in dire financial straits and that there's business to be done.

mil1lion · Aug 23, 2023

Daredevil said:
It’s a little weird being called Brennan most of my life (my last name) and now seeing that name all over SC for the first time.

The part about not being as good at football as everyone would like is very familiar though…

Just wait for the "fuck sake Brennan" in the match threads

Frozen_Waffles · Aug 23, 2023

Joshua said:
He’s really not and it’s massive issue if he’s being signed to play wide. I’d have less concerns about him playing as a striker but I’d be worried about the ball sticking with him. Can I ask where you’ve got this opinion from as well? I’m Welsh so have watched him plenty, and his statistics don’t show that either.

Every time I've watched him he kicks the ball down the line and beats the full back for pace.

Like Walker used to beat players. That's what I've seen anyway.

fishhhandaricecake · Aug 23, 2023

Frozen_Waffles said:
Just out of interest, who do you suggest, who is a top class player to replace Kane.

I can't think of any off the top of my head. Here are the top scorers in Europe last season...

View attachment 131091

The only player I can see who is even close to that class is Martinez, and even then trying to pry him from Inter or persuade him to come here would be tough and probably cost a fortune.

I haven't seen Johnathan David, so I can't judge but who else is there? The options up top are limited. For me Brennan is a clever purchase.

I also get very worried about trusting players who do well in the French League.

Really good points.

Tucker · Aug 23, 2023

mil1lion said:
Just wait for the "fuck sake Brennan" in the match threads

I’m gonna go with “That sucked, BJ!!” personally.

Joshua · Aug 23, 2023

Frozen_Waffles said:
Every time I've watched him he kicks the ball down the line and beats the full back for pace.

Like Walker used to beat players. That's what I've seen anyway.

Not what we need in a 1v1 player for when we come up against low blocks playing a possession game. A two way dribbler in the mold of Mitoma is what we need. I think we’re being forced into a move for Johnson because of how poorly the squad has been managed and he’s the best h/g option available.

mil1lion · Aug 23, 2023

JayB said:
Every single transfer we've made thus far is something that we should have done anyway even if we'd been able to convince Kane to extend his contract. Vicario was a budget-rate alternative at a position that we had no choice but to address, VdV is the long sought-after CB signing that we've needed since Jose was at the club chasing after the likes of Skriniar, Maddison finally replaces Eriksen three and a half years after Eriksen left, and Veliz is a teenager in the one-for-the-future bracket. The others who have been brought into the side (Udogie, Sarr, Bissouma) were already at the club.

Selling Kane presents an opportunity to go beyond the usual signings that we make every window in the ordinary course of business and to bring in real quality. I don't know who the big-name signings are, but I'm not a scout. I do know that clubs throughout Europe are in dire financial straits and that there's business to be done.

Sorry but it's just fantasy to say we could attract better players with the Kane money. We had money before but couldn't attract better than we have been this window. It's like saying West Ham should go sign a top player now they have the Rice money. Brighton should sign a few with that theory. We don't sign the best players, we sign them young and develop them. We're doing exactly what we should have been doing post Poch before we lost site of what works for us. We don't even have Europe and lost our best player now too. So buying young and developing them under Ange is the best way to go.

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