Michael Dawson tells Spurs fans what they can expect from his old teammate Brennan Johnson

Michael Dawson has suggested that Ange Postecoglou could use Brennan Johnson as a central striker at Tottenham.

Richarlison has had a lacklustre start to the season and the pressure has been heaped on the Brazilian, with the unavoidable comparisons to Harry Kane being made by many around the club.

Postecoglou took the former Everton man out of the firing line against Burnley, opting to start Son Heung-min through the middle instead and the South Korean netted a hattrick to help Spurs emerge 5-2 winners.

The competition for places upfront at Tottenham is about to get even fiercer after Johnson arrived from Nottingham Forest in a £47.5m deal on transfer deadline day.

The 22-year-old has primarily been used on the flanks by Steve Cooper but he has often played as the centre-forward for the Wales national team and occasionally for Forest too. 

Dawson believes that the youngster might play the same role at Spurs, describing the switch to N17 as a ‘great move’ for the player.

Michael Dawson is excited to see Brennan Johnson

The former Tottenham centre-back told Sky Sports News (12:14 pm, September 2, 2023) about Johnson: “Where does he play? You have got Kulusevski there, you have got Sonny on the left, you have got Richarlison.

“Does he go in and be the number 9? He can play all across the front three. He is lightning-quick. When he runs at you, balls in behind, it’s a great move for him.”

This comes after Dawson gave an interview to The Athletic about what Brennan Johnson was like when he first burst onto the scene during their time together at Nottingham Forest.

He said: “You could see straight away that he was a great striker of the ball; that he was capable of delivering it where players wanted it.

“When you see a player like that, you know that they have something special. In one-on-one situations, you would not want to be against him. He could finish from all sorts of different positions.

“When that was me, training with the first team for the first time, I remember people telling me, ‘Make sure people know you. Make sure the manager knows who you are by the time you have finished that session’. Johnno did that. He has always been lovely on the eye from day one.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I do think that Postecoglou views Johnson as someone who can eventually develop into a number nine. However, I expect the Australian to primarily use the 22-year-old as a wide player this season, with Kulusevski’s place in the starting eleven now under threat.