This has been a foregone conclusion for a couple of days now, but now it’s all done but the official social media posts: Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace have come to a full agreement for the transfer of Brennan Johnson.
The transfer fee is just shy of £35m which is a good price for a player Spurs bought 2.5 years ago for £47m and who has been languishing on Thomas Frank’s bench for most of this season. Johnson, as you’ve no doubt heard, was Tottenham’s leading scorer last season with 18 goals in all competitions including the goal that won Tottenham the Europa League title under Ange Postecoglou, but it’s clear he’s not in Frank’s plans this season and won’t come close to reaching those numbers should he stay. At Palace he has a better chance of getting significant minutes and could thrive in Oliver Glasner’s system, or at least as long as Glasner stays at Palace.
It’s okay to be sad — Brennan was an important player for us and gave us some incredible moments, but Spurs have been criticized for years for not moving on from players in a timely way and retooling; that’s what they appear to be doing. It’s a good price, the player wants to go, and it’s time to move on.