This is why Brennan Johnson is the key to properly unlock Tottenham’s season
Brennan Johnson should start for Thomas Frank on the right wing over Mohammed Kudus despite his creative limitations.
Johnson has been demoted to a secondary role at Tottenham despite scoring the winner in the UEFA Europa League final last season.
This has seen Johnson linked with an exit from Spurs, given that his minutes have greatly decreased.
However, the right winger could be more important to Frank’s season than even he realises, with Kudus able to play in different roles, too.
The Mohammed Kudus problem
Kudus arrived at Tottenham over the summer and has since before Spurs’ starting right winger.
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After testing Johnson on the left wing for a couple of games, Frank opted to start Wilson Odobert, who is a natural left winger.
The issue is that while Johnson is a better goalscorer, Kudus is the far superior creator:
Meanwhile, 71 per cent of his long balls have been accurate, and so have 67 per cent of his chip passes, according to Sofascore. As a result, Kudus is untouchable for Frank.
This has seen the Welsh international accept a peripheral role in North London, despite being their top goal scorer last season.
Is Brennan Johnson the better option for Thomas Frank?
For months, fans begged Frank to get the best out of Xavi Simons, who had started poorly at Tottenham.
And it may not be a coincidence that Simons played his best football at Spurs while Kudus was sidelined.
The Dutch international is a final third action player and works best with a large volume of touches around the area.
However, he has averaged 45.1 touches in the Premier League this season. Kudus? 51.7 this period.
But with Kudus sidelined, Simons shone in Spurs’ 4-0 win over Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League.
His assist came from a spectacular Johnson finish, who was excellent before being shown a red card in the second half.
Johnson is a runner. His whole game is centred around getting into good goal-scoring positions around the box. Johnson’s game is dependent on a creator, and Simons is a facilitator.
However, Kudus is an excellent creator who wants the ball at his feet in almost every situation. It doesn’t work because both Simons and Kudus are attempting to do the same thing on the pitch from different positions.
The verdict?
Frank should look to curate a system where every single one of these players can thrive.
The Dane prefers to attack in a ‘U’ shape, where the ball is progressed and chances are created through his wingers. This minimises Simons’ effectiveness on the pitch.
But this is where Johnson comes in. If Frank shifts Kudus to the left wing, where he has played many times before, and deploys Johnson on the right, Simons has his outlet and Kudus’ creative output isn’t lost.
It’s a win-win situation that Frank should consider before Tottenham face Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.