Just Imagine him: Tottenham star sold for £26M is now outperforming Brennan Johnson

This season, the former Tottenham winger has been playing well for his team.

Tottenham Hotspur’s 2022–2023 season was difficult as they were eliminated from all three European tournaments and finished ninth in the Premier League.

After that, they decided to hire Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou from Scottish powerhouse Celtic, and the former head coach of the Hoops has had a great start to his time in North London.

After 23 games, Spurs are two points off of the Champions League spots and now sit fifth in the standings, indicating that they will have a stronger season than the one they had under him.

Impressive additions like James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, and Destiny Udogie—who played for Udinese on loan last season—have improved the team, but Postecoglou has also shown his capacity to develop players.

Under Postecoglou, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison’s progress

Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison are two Spurs players that have greatly improved from the previous campaign. They have both elevated their games to new heights.

During the 2022–2023 Premier League season, the Sweden international made 30 appearances and scored two goals and created seven “big chances” for his team.

In only 21 top-flight games this season, the former Juventus prospect has generated five goals and eight “big chances” created under Postecoglou, which is a notable improvement in front of goal.

While Richarlison had a terrible first season at the club after his transfer from Everton, he has now established himself as a reliable player at the top end of the field.

After failing the previous season, the Brazil international has surpassed his xG and been quite effective in the final third, as the table above illustrates.

Tottenham is benefiting from having a manager who can nurture and bring out the best in the players at his disposal, and for some of the players who have gone on recently, it may leave them wondering what could have been.

One gifted striker whose form since leaving England is Dutch winger Steven Bergwijn. Postecoglou’s adventurous and progressive style of play at Spurs has allowed players like Kulusevski and Richarlison to flourish.

Growth of Steven Bergwijn at Ajax

The 26-year-old genius is presently outperforming Brennan Johnson, an attacker for Tottenham who has sometimes struggled this season due to his lack of talent in the last third of the pitch. Johnson should now be in the peak of his career.

After the Netherlands international returned to Spurs with eight goals and eleven assists in 83 appearances across all competitions, Ajax pounced to sign him in the summer of 2022 for a reported amount of £26.4 million.

In his 60 Premier League games with the Lilywhites, Bergwijn only started 25 of them. Despite this, he scored seven goals and provided six assists for the division.

Given that the former PSV star was unable to establish a consistent position in the squad and had a mediocre goal scoring record, it is difficult to condemn Daniel Levy for capitalising on his exploits.

But the right-footed wizard has been in incredible form since the beginning of the previous season, and it seems like he’s back to his best in his own nation.

As the data above illustrates, Bergwijn had a great start in the Eredivisie after his transfer to Ajax, netting 17 goals and providing 17 assists in 32 games, or more every other game on average.

In 16 league games for the Dutch powerhouses in the 2023–24 season, the 26-year-old star has added seven goals and four assists, for an average of one direct goal per 1.54 matches.

These seven goals came from 6.30 xG, indicating that he has been clinical with the chances that have come his way. Those four assists have come from 5.78 xA, indicating that his teammates have sometimes let him down.

Consequently, the dynamic winger has been Ajax’s best goal scorer and creator from wide out this season, whereas Johnson has sometimes faltered since joining from Nottingham Forest in the summer.

This season’s troubles for Brennan Johnson

The Wales international, unlike Kulusevski and Richarlison, has not taken full use of the offensive possibilities afforded by Postecoglou’s style.

At the age of 22, Johnson was acquired from Nottingham Forest for an alleged sum over £45 million, and he brings with him long-term promise.

Spurs will be hoping that he improves with continuous playing time and coaching over the next several months, if not years, since his present performance at the top of the pitch is now a little cause for worry.

The table above illustrates how Johnson has done poorly when compared to the opportunities his teammates have given him. Meanwhile, his colleagues’ outstanding finishing has increased his assist totals.

Those numbers also show that, despite playing in separate leagues, Bergwijn has excelled the Welsh striker in terms of both goal creation and scoring, with much more goals and xA in less games.

Now, picture the possibility that Spurs may have signed the Dutch wizard under Postecoglou, allowing the Australian manager to incorporate him into his existing North London system.

With his improved finishing and creative qualities on the wing, the former PSV jewel seems to be a much better choice than Johnson, who finished 38 Premier League games for Forest with eight goals and three assists. This is evident from his current play for Ajax.

Under Postecoglou, the present Tottenham winger should start to shine in front of goal by sharpening his finishing and creating more opportunities.

He is now being outperformed by Bergwijn, however, and some may be curious as to how he would have performed in the present configuration.

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