Tottenham Hotspur supporters have typically been blessed with quite a few elite-level wingers, lots of whom have given the supporters reminiscences to final a lifetime within the last third.
Heung-min Son joined the Lilywhites from Bayer Leverkusen manner again in the summertime of 2015, making himself a cult hero in North London – after racking up over 400 appearances in North London.
The South Korean worldwide captained the Lilywhites final season, main them to European glory and subsequently serving to them finish their near-two-decade anticipate silverware.
Gareth Bale was one other, scoring numerous strikes off the right-hand flank, even leaving in a club-record £85m deal to hitch Actual Madrid again in the summertime of 2013.
The Welshman is arguably some of the proficient gamers to ever grace the Premier League, with present boss Thomas Frank little doubt wishing he had a participant of his calibre at his disposal.
Nonetheless, one in all Bale’s compatriots has in the end failed to succeed in the degrees many anticipated, which has introduced his long-term future in North London into large query.
Brennan Johnson’s decline at Spurs within the final 12 months
Brennan Johnson has endured considerably of a rollercoaster spell in his two years at Spurs, with many being taken without warning by his performances in North London.
The winger initially joined in a £47.5m deal from Nottingham Forest in the summertime of 2023, with many supporters elevating eyebrows on the nature of the switch charge.
His spell on the membership actually didn’t get off to the most effective begin in 2023/24, with the 24-year-old solely scoring 5 occasions in his 32 appearances throughout his debut 12 months.
The early phases of 2024/25 weren’t significantly better for the teenager, along with his dismal shows resulting in unacceptable abuse from a choice of supporters on social media.
In flip, Johnson deactivated all of his accounts, permitting him to concentrate on his soccer and subsequently shutting up his doubters – ending the 12 months on 18 targets throughout all competitions.
He was additionally chargeable for the largest objective within the Lilywhites’ current historical past, as he poked residence the profitable objective within the Europa League triumph in opposition to Manchester United again in Could.
Frank’s arrival throughout the identical interval ought to have handed the winger the right probability to construct on his success, however to this point, he’s endured an enormous drop-off in type, along with his numbers massively struggling because of this.
Johnson averaged an excellent 2.2 photographs per 90 within the Premier League final season, however within the first 11 outings of the brand new marketing campaign, he’s solely been in a position to put up a median of 0.96 per 90.
Such a drop is a 56% decline within the area of only a matter of months, showcasing that the participant is presently affected by an enormous insecurity in North London.
He’s additionally seen a big drop when it comes to his touches within the opposition field per 90, with the Welshman additionally unable to get himself into threatening positions on a constant foundation.
Final season, the 24-year-old averaged a complete of 5.9 touches within the 18-yard field per 90, however at current, he’s solely notching a complete of two.6 – a drop of round 57%.
The Spurs star who can finish Johnson’s Spurs profession
After Son’s departure to hitch LAFC in the summertime window, Spurs and Frank have massively lacked the depth and high quality wanted on the left-hand aspect of the assault.
Over the previous couple of weeks, the Dane has utilised varied gamers in such a task to try to bridge the hole between now and the upcoming January switch window.
Richarlison operated in such a task within the 2-2 draw with Manchester United, with the Brazilian struggling to adapt to working in a considerably unfamiliar place.
Johnson himself has even crammed the void over the past couple of months, however just like the aforementioned star, he’s been unable to nail such a task down as his personal.
His performances in such an space will little doubt have contributed to his current hunch in type, with the Welshman being kicked out of his right-sided function after Mohammed Kudus’ arrival.
Nonetheless, the 24-year-old might discover his profession in North London over the approaching months, particularly if winger Wilson Odobert is ready to construct up a powerful run of begins within the first crew.
The Frenchman joined the Lilywhites in a £25m deal from Burnley final summer time, however has typically needed to bide his time for an impression within the first-team over the past 18 months.
The 20-year-old solely made a complete of 16 Premier League appearances for the Lilywhites final season, however nonetheless managed to web his first top-flight objective in opposition to West Ham United.
Odobert, who’s been described as “a combination of Barcola and Aaron Lennon” by one Sky Sports activities analyst, additionally managed to web two targets throughout the Europa League-winning marketing campaign, managing to offer the products when known as upon by Ange Postecoglou.
Nonetheless, since Frank’s arrival throughout the low season, he’s solely made three begins within the Premier League, while additionally making simply seven appearances off the bench.
He’s solely appeared for a complete of 379 league minutes to this point, with the supervisor desperately needing to point out extra religion within the teenager within the months forward.
Frank did permit Odobert the prospect to shine in opposition to United on Saturday, with the Frenchman taking full benefit of the prospect handed his manner by the supervisor.
He registered an help for Richarlison after approaching on the break to interchange compatriot Randal Kolo Muani, who was changed on the break after fracturing his jaw.
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Wilson Odobert – stats in opposition to Man Utd |
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|---|---|
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Statistics |
Tally |
|
Minutes performed |
45 |
|
Touches |
25 |
|
Passes accomplished |
100% |
|
Probabilities created |
3 |
|
Dribbles accomplished |
2 |
|
Crosses accomplished |
2 |
|
Duels gained |
100% |
|
Fouls drawn |
1 |
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Stats through FotMob |
|
Regardless of solely that includes for 45 minutes, Odobert did handle to finish essentially the most dribbles of any participant on the pitch (2), while additionally creating essentially the most probabilities (3).
He additionally managed to finish 100% of the passes he tried, with such a cameo showcasing to the supervisor why he ought to he beginning in North London frequently.
Because of this, Johnson will definitely be fortunate to keep up his beginning function, with the Welshman now extraordinarily more likely to drop right down to the substitutes bench within the coming video games.
Given his mammoth sum, the hierarchy could now look to money in on his providers within the winter to try to keep away from dropping a complete heap on their £47.5m funding for his signature.