Crystal Palace have reached an agreement with Tottenham to sign Brennan Johnson. That is the big breaking transfer news ahead of the January transfer window opening and we are likely to find out in the coming days what is going to happen with the Wales forward.
He is likely to have more than one decision to make. It is not going to be sign for Palace or stay with Spurs, because the likes of Bournemouth and Everton are also interested in his signature.
The likelihood is, however, that he will depart Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this January, bringing to an end a two-and-a-half-year association with the Lilywhites.
Why Brennan Johnson Was Signed in the First Place
Johnson signed from Nottingham Forest in a £47.5million deal in the summer of 2023.
He was an exciting forward player, aged just 22 at the time, signed to be the perfect forward for Ange Postecoglou's dynamic, forward-thinking attacking system.
He ended the 2023/24 season with 16 goal involvements in 35 Premier League matches - five goals and 11 assists - with all of those goal involvements actually coming in the last 29 games of the campaign.
Following a slow start, in which he missed three matches and failed to register a goal involvement in the other six of the first nine matches of the season, as he adapted to a new team and new style, Johnson recorded 16 goal involvements in 29 appearances.
He was the second highest assister in the Premier League that year.
He would follow that up by being Spurs' top scorer in all competitions in 2024/15, notching 18 goals this time, while still adding seven assists to his name too. That made it 25 goal involvements in 51 matches all told, with the biggest one being the UEFA Europa League final winner against Manchester United in Bilbao.
He will go down in history for scoring that goal, the strike that won Tottenham their first piece of silverware for 17 years and their first European trophy in 41 years.
Why is Brennan Johnson Not Playing Regularly for Tottenham?
Johnson has contributed to 41 goals in the last two seasons, making him one of Spurs most important forward players. So why is he now looking set to leave the club?
He has four goals to his name this season, although he has not scored in the Premier League since the second week of the season. In fairness to him, he has not played a great deal since then - just 443 minutes in the top flight.
The Welshman has been used sparingly by Thomas Frank, with the Dane preferring the likes of Richarlison, Randal Kolo Muani, Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus in his frontline.
Johnson has struggled to adapt to Frank's style of play in N17, although that can be said for a number of players in what has been a disappointing campaign for the Lilywhites.
The now 24-year-old was bought for Postecoglou and he flourished in that system. The Welshman became known for arriving late at the back post to score from a ball across the box from the opposite wing, doing it so well.
He cannot do that under Frank, with the Dane's attacking plans less focused on getting to the byline and more aimed at the build-up.
Brennan Johnson is a face that, at this moment in time, just does not fit. The question will be whether Frank's face continues to fit in the dugout and whether Spurs are actually letting a player leave who could floruish once more under a different head coach.
Tottenham are set to take a £12.5million hit on a player just two-and-a-half years after signing him. A player who was an important part of a trophy-winning team, no less.
The Problem Thomas Frank and the Tottenham Hierarchy Have
If Frank is backed, remains in the job for the long term and gets the team playing better, more exciting football, Spurs fans will thank Johnson for his incredible contribution, wish him well and move on.
That may not be the case, however, and there could be even more head scratching going on at having let the previous season's top scorer leave so soon.
Johnson follows Son Heung-min and Harry Kane in being the club's last three top scorers to have departed. The January transfer window will be a big one for Frank and Spurs when it comes to incoming signings.