Ange Postecoglou hails ‘super’ Brennan Johnson as Wales star finds his feet at Spurs

Ange Postecoglou has talked up Brennan Johnson’s growing influence and says he is impressed with how he has handled his debut season at Tottenham.

Johnson joined Spurs on transfer deadline day in September for a £47.5million fee from Nottingham Forest and initially struggled to make his mark, with only one goal during the first half of the campaign.

The Wales attacker has flourished since December though, scoring in comeback wins over Brentford and Brighton and also making key contributions off the bench against Crystal Palace and Luton in recent weeks.

Big expectations

Ahead of Tuesday’s trip to West Ham, Postecoglou said: “Brennan was super on the weekend.

“He’s still young, he’s developing. He’s moved to a big club where there’s big expectations when you have a big transfer fee, but for the most part I think he’s handled it really well.

“He started the two games before he came off the bench, he did really well against Villa. He wasn’t great against Fulham but most of the team wasn’t great against Fulham. (Against Luton) he came again off the bench and made an impact.

“He’s another one understanding more and more how we want to play and he’s adjusting to it. Like I said, for the most part he’s handled himself really well this year.

“It was always going to be a tough introduction for a young player, moving to a big club for a transfer fee, and it’s always harder for attacking players because they are usually measured on goals and assists but I think he’s contributing in more than just that.”

Johnson could start Tuesday’s London derby and may line up alongside Timo Werner, who played a part in both goals during the 2-1 win over Luton.