TBR Football can exclusively share that Brennan Johnson is one of the Tottenham Hotspur players who have already seriously impressed new manager Thomas Frank.
So far this summer, Tottenham have made Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel’s loan moves permanent, as well as finally welcoming Luka Vuskovic to the club.
New faces Kota Takai, Mohammed Kudus and Joao Palhinha have also joined, but Thomas Frank will still mostly be working with the players who were already in N17.
Of course, Brennan Johnson is one of those, a big money signing who arrived under Ange Postecoglou from Nottingham Forest.
The 24-year-old left his boyhood club to join Spurs in 2023, but after 83 appearances for the club, there’s still a feeling that there’s a lot more left to come.
Exclusive: Thomas Frank already likes Brennan Johnson and Pape Matar Sarr
Johnson has been impressed by Tottenham signing Kudus this summer, a fellow attacking player who should thrive under Frank.
But when it comes to making the most of the talent already in north London, TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Frank already really likes Johnson as well as Pape Matar Sarr.
Asked about Frank’s early favourites, Bailey replied: “I actually thought Richarlison would be one of them, it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out, because there are a few Spurs players worth watching here.
“Kulusevski, for example, we’ll have to see how he fits in…and then there’s Maddison.
“I’d heard that Maddison was kind of on the fringes even before Frank arrived at Spurs.
“I’ve also heard that Frank really likes both Johnson and Sarr, he’s been impressed by them. But to be fair, when he first came in, he already liked a lot of the squad.
“That was actually part of the reason he got the job – in his conversations with Daniel Levy, he went through the whole squad and wasn’t negative about anyone.
“He showed he had a strong understanding of the group and was genuinely positive about what was already there.”
Jamie O’Hara called Brennan Johnson ‘frustrating’ last month
Whilst Sarr continues to make steady progress at Spurs, opinions on Johnson’s output have been a bit more divided over the course of the year.
And when speaking on TalkSPORT last month, former Tottenham player Jamie O’Hara labelled the Welshman ‘one of the most frustrating’ players he’d watched.
Explaining why, O’Hara said: “Brennan Johnson had a really good return last year, a really good return. He scored a lot of goals. He gets on the end of things and that is an art.
“But, I’ll tell you what, he is one of the most frustrating football players to watch. He’s so frustrating to watch, because he can, I think, give more, and he doesn’t.”
Clearly Frank must have an opposing view, and it’ll be interesting to see how he fits Kudus and Johnson in the same side.