When Thomas Frank first took over as Tottenham Hotspur manager this summer, every fan was trying to connect the dots to see which current players, especially the young crop of talent, would benefit the most from the switch from Ange Postecoglou to the former Brentford boss.
And one player everyone kept circling was 2024/25 Tottenham leading scorer Brennan Johnson, who was fresh off scoring the winning goal in the Europa League Final against Manchester United in Bilbao. Johnson, after all, was pursued heavily by Brentford the same transfer window that he ended up at Tottenham, and if it were not for the fact that Spurs have a lot more money to spend than the Bees, Johnson may have ended up with the local London rivals instead under Frank back then.
Frank gave Johnson opportunities to start at the beginning of the season, and while he does throw the Wales international a bone here and there, it is pretty clear that Johnson has no real path to the starting lineup under Frank. And that is without Dejan Kulusevski back from his knee injury yet.
Mohammed Kudus has made Brennan Johnson a non factor
Mohammed Kudus immediately took over on the right wing, and Frank, like many Spurs fans, has seen just how much better the Ghanaian international is than last season's hold over. Sure, Johnson can bring the goals and is a great poacher, and, honestly, maybe Frank could be doing more to harness Johnson's scoring instincts when he does actually play him. Playing Johnson on the left wing, for example, is a ridiculous idea.
But by and large, give credit where credit is due to Thomas Frank here. He may have been smitten by Brennan Johnson back when he was a prospect at Nottingham Forest, but now that he sees him up close and personal at a real big club like Tottenham Hotspur, it appears just as evident to Frank as it does to every Spurs supporter that Johnson does not quite have the right stuff to start for a top four contender in the Premier League.
Johnson has his positive traits and moments, but he is the anti Kudus. Whereas Kudus tirelessly runs, takes on defenders, has courage on the ball, and is an amazing chance creator out wide, Johnson does pretty much nothing well that a winger should, to the point where you wonder if he is a winger at all. As Johnson continues to be discarded by the new manager, you have to wonder where his future lies if Frank does not even rate him.