View: 100% ace finally gives Tottenham fitness boost as Sky Sports update emerges today
Brennan Johnson took part in Tottenham training on Tuesday (19 December) and is set to be in contention to start the Premier League clash with Everton, according to Sky Sports News.
The Wales international was forced off the field after just half an hour of last Friday’s (15 December) 2-0 win against former club Nottingham Forest due to a facial injury.
That was a cruel blow for Johnson on the back of producing arguably his most impressive Spurs display to date in the previous game’s 4-1 win over Newcastle United.
Johnson hit the goal frame twice and had a flawless 100 percent return in terms of dribbles completed (4/4) [Sofascore] in that match on December 10.
Ange Postecoglou benefited greatly from the 22-year-old’s direct style of play, therefore it was expected that he would be starting at the City Ground.
Johnson played a minimal amount of time versus Forest, but in that time, he completed all four of his passes (100%) and nearly scored with a prodding attempt somewhat early in the game.
Despite the possibility that his face injury in Nottingham may prevent him from playing, particularly if it was related to a concussion, Jamie Weir has given a good report on Sky Sports News.
From Tottenham’s training site, Weir stated, “The good news is that Brennan Johnson is out there” [19 December, 11:05].
“After 20 minutes against Nottingham Forest, he was substituted in. Ange Postecoglou said it was a serious cut following the game. Thus, it is encouraging to see Brennan Johnson in public.
The relative lack of finished product has been the only drawback to Johnson’s efforts in a Tottenham shirt thus far. Despite only averaging one crucial pass per game [WhoScored], he has only made 11 league games and only has two assists and one goal.
That is not exactly a horrible return, but Pedro Porro has three more assists, and players like Pape Matar Sarr, Manor Solomon, and Destiny Udogie have assisted just as many goals (two).
In Johnson’s most recent full performance, the win over Newcastle, he also found a team-mate from just one of his four crosses, while none of his three shots were on target.
Johnson still has room for improvement in several areas of his game, but he stands out from the competition because of his ability to beat a man and enter the last third of the game swiftly.
Indeed, according to FBref, Johnson is leading all Spurs regulars in progressive carries (4.55 per 90 minutes) this season—defined as attacking phases that move the ball 10 yards or more closer to the opposition goal. The only Spurs regular who outperforms Johnson in this category is Dejan Kulusevski (5.64).
Johnson loses the ball just 0.76 times every 90 minutes, compared to 2.24 times for Kulusevski, which essentially means opponents have a harder time stopping his runs.
Johnson has had a good start to life at Tottenham, and now that the team is finally experiencing a positive injury boost after years of setbacks, he will be ready to get going.
In other Tottenham news, Shay Given and Danny Murphy expressed their admiration for the team’s 102-touch maestro during the victory over Forest.