Postecoglou pleased by Johnson’s progress at Spurs

Ange Postecoglou has hailed Brennan Johnson’s increasing influence in what is the forward’s debut season at Tottenham Hotspur.

Johnson joined Spurs on transfer deadline day in September for £47.5 million ($59.6 million, 55.5 million euros) from Nottingham Forest and initially struggled to make his mark, with only one goal during the first half of the campaign.

But the 22-year-old Welshman has come into his own since December, scoring in wins over Brentford and Brighton as well as making important contributions off the bench against Crystal Palace and Luton in recent weeks.

“Brennan was super on the weekend,” said Spurs manager Postecoglou as he reflected on Johnson’s performance in a 2-1 win at home to Luton ahead of Tuesday’s trip to London rivals West Ham.

“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.”

The Australian added: “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.”

Fifth-placed Spurs remain without Fraser Forster (foot), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) and Manor Solomon (knee), but Micky van de Ven could start in defence against West Ham after he was an unused substitute against Luton upon his return from a muscle injury.