With Brennan Johnson moving to Crystal Palace for £35m, we take a look at where the winger ranks among the most expensive sales in Tottenham’s history.
Spurs signed Johnson for £47.5m from Nottingham Forest in 2023, and two-and-a-half years on, the club have decided to cut their losses on the winger.
According to reports, Crystal Palace have agreed to pay a £35m fee for Johnson, who has become the Eagles’ first signing of the January transfer window.
That fee makes the Wales international one of the most expensive sales in the North London club’s history.
Brennan Johnson is the fourth most expensive sale in Tottenham’s history
Going by the figures reported in the media, the £35m that Tottenham Hotspur will be paid for Johnson is the fourth highest they have ever received for any player.
Only Gareth Bale, Harry Kane and Kyle Walker were sold for bigger sums by the North London club.
The Johnson sale just about edges out the Dimitar Berbatov sale to Man United in 2008, which rounds out the top five.
The top five most expensive sales in Tottenham’s history:
- Gareth Bale – £85.9 million (to Real Madrid on September 1, 2003)
- Harry Kane – £80.8 million (to Bayern Munich on 12 August 2023)
- Kyle Walker – £44.8 million (to Manchester City on 14, July 2017)
- Brennan Johnson – £35 million (to Crystal Palace)
- Dimitar Berbatov – £32.3 million (to Manchester United on 1 September 2008)
- Luka Modric – £29.8 million (to Real Madrid on 27 August 2012)
- Steven Bergwijn – £26.6 million (to Ajax on 8 July 2022)
- Michael Carrick – £23.1 million (to Manchester United on 31 July 2006)
- Christian Eriksen – £23 million (to Inter Milan on 28 January 2020)
- Robbie Keane – £20.4 million (to Liverpool on 28 July 2008)
Have Spurs got good value for Johnson?
Some Spurs fans feel that the club have been shortchanged by selling Johnson for £35m, and that is an understandable sentiment.
The winger was the club’s top scorer last season with 18 goals, and as many as seven clubs were reportedly interested in the Spurs man.
However, Tottenham deserve credit for being proactive in the sale, which has not been the case in the past, and it frees up funds and squad space for the Lilywhites to add reinforcements early in the window.