‘Lose his place’: Paul Merson says £48m Tottenham star will now be dropped, predicts Brentford game

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to bounce back from their FA Cup defeat to Manchester City by trying to beat Ivan Toney-inspired Brentford on Wednesday.

With Son Heung-min still away on international duty at the Asian Cup, you would imagine that the likes of Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson will start.

Paul Merson, speaking to Sportsskeeda, stated that Brendan Johnson will not be starting for Tottenham when the South Korean star returns because “there has been a lot of talk about Tottenham’s frontline in the absence of Son Heung-min.”

Spurs dominated much of the game but squandered several guilt-edge chances in their 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.

Similar to the FA Cup, Brennan Johnson faced criticism once more as an all-action, free-flowing Ange Postecoglou squad failed to muster an effort on goal in the first half.

Given what Spurs have been producing going forward this season, that was unthinkable and unexpected, even if it was against the Treble winners.

That’s why Paul Merson is expecting Brennan Johnson to be booted out of XI, sooner rather than later, but he is still backing the team to secure a 3-1 win over Brentford on Wednesday.

Brennan Johnson’s form

“There’s been a lot of talk about Spurs’ frontline in the absence of Son Heung-min,” said Merson.

“But between Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson, I think the latter is more likely to lose his place when the South Korean returns from the Asian Cup. Werner has had some hard games since he joined the club earlier this month, so we have to wait to judge him.

“When everyone’s fit, I think their front line would be Dejan Kulusevski and Son, with Maddison playing behind them.”

Tottenham can move into fourth

Aston Villa’s lengthy home unbeaten streak was snapped on Tuesday when they fell to a revitalized Newcastle United.

This implies that Spurs will move into fourth place if they defeat Brentford by a margin of two goals.

It will seem like perfect timing and give the club even more momentum with players like Micky van de Ven and James Maddison back in the fold.

Spurs have the opportunity to secure fourth place and ensure that they play in the Champions League the next season, regardless of the outcome.