Brennan Johnson

Brennan Price Johnson (born 23 May 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Tottenham Hotspur and the Wales national team.

Born in Nottingham, England, Johnson began his professional career with Nottingham Forest and helped the club achieve promotion to the Premier League in 2022. He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2023, winning the UEFA Europa League in 2025 and scoring the deciding goal in the final.

At international level, Johnson played several matches for England youth sides before switching allegiance to Wales in 2018. He made his debut for the senior Welsh team in 2020, and represented the country at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Early life

Brennan Price Johnson was born on 23 May 2001 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. He is the son of a Jamaican father, former footballer David Johnson, and Welsh mother, Alison Johnson. His maternal grandparents are from Rhayader, Wales. He went to Rushcliffe school in West Bridgford.

Club career

Nottingham Forest

After joining the Nottingham Forest academy from Dunkirk at eight years old, Johnson made his first-team debut aged 18, appearing on 3 August 2019 as an 88th-minute substitute in a 2–1 loss against West Bromwich Albion on the opening day of the season.

On 25 September 2020, Johnson joined League One club Lincoln City on a season-long loan. He made his debut two days later, coming off the bench against Charlton Athletic. He scored his first career goal against Plymouth Argyle, heading in from close range. In April 2021, Johnson scored his first career hat-trick in a match against Milton Keynes Dons, taking Johnson just 11 minutes to accomplish this feat.

Johnson's first professional goal for Nottingham Forest came in a 1–1 draw against local rivals Derby County on 28 August 2021. Forest experienced an upturn of form after the appointment of Steve Cooper, replacing Chris Hughton, and after scoring one goal and providing two assists in a month where Forest had three wins, Johnson was awarded the EFL Young Player of the Month award for September 2021. Johnson was awarded the EFL Championship Player of the Month award for April 2022 after his four goals and four assists helped Forest into the play-offs, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion. Johnson would play in all three games of the play-offs, and was the topscorer across all Championship play-off games, scoring once in each of the semi-final legs against Sheffield United. He also successfully scored in the subsequent penalty shootout against Sheffield United, which took place as the teams were tied after both legs of the semi-final.

Johnson ended the season as Forest's top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions, including in both semi-final legs of their successful play-off campaign. He was named the EFL Championship Young Player of the Season. On 1 July 2022, he signed a new four-year contract with Nottingham Forest, which was set to expire in June 2026. Johnson played in every game in Nottingham Forest's return to the Premier League in 2022–23 as they avoided relegation, providing eight goals and three assists.

Tottenham Hotspur

2023–24

On 1 September 2023, Johnson signed for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on a six-year contract for a transfer fee of £47.5 million. He made his debut for Tottenham on 16 September 2023, in a 2–1 victory over Sheffield United. On 11 November, Johnson scored his first goal for Tottenham in the third minute of a 2–1 defeat away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Due to Tottenham players being away on international duty and a number of injuries in the squad, Johnson was awarded many opportunities in the starting lineup during the winter period of his first season. On 31 January 2024, Johnson would score his second goal for the club in a game against Brentford. His goal came only a minute after Tottenham's first goal of the match, scored by Destiny Udogie, and was the second of three goals to be scored within 8 minutes. Tottenham Hotspur would win the match 3–2. On 10 February 2024, Johnson scored a stoppage-time winner for Tottenham Hotspur in their 2–1 home win against Brighton & Hove Albion, after joining the game as a 62nd minute substitute for Timo Werner. Johnson was instrumental in Tottenham's 2 March 2024 match against Crystal Palace, where he assisted Timo Werner in his first goal for the club, equalizing the game. He then later assisted Son Heung-min in the final goal of the 3–1 victory.

Johnson finished the season with five goals and ten assists; his ten assists was the joint-most of any Spurs player.

2024–25

Following a 1–0 home loss to local rivals Arsenal on 15 September 2024, Johnson was subject to heavy amounts of online abuse, leading to the deactivation of his social media accounts. However, he quickly bounced back, and netted a late winner 3 days later against Coventry City in the 3rd round of the EFL Cup, and went on to score a goal in seven consecutive games.

Johnson would suffer a calf injury during Tottenham's away clash against Arsenal on 15 January 2025, returning as a 64th minute substitute during Tottenham's 1–0 home win against Manchester United on 16 February Johnson would make his first start back from injury on the 22 February away at Ipswich Town, scoring twice within 8 minutes.

Johnson scored within the first minute of the first leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-final against Bodø/Glimt on 1 May, which they would win 3–1. He later scored the only goal in the final against Manchester United on 21 May, helping the club end their 17-year wait for a major trophy.

International career

Youth career

Johnson played in international friendlies for the England under-16 and under-17 teams before switching to Wales in 2018. He played for the Wales under-19 team in the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifiers. His first competition goal for a Wales youth team was in his debut for the Wales under-21 team, in a 1–0 victory over the Belgium under-21 team on 6 September 2019, during the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers.

Senior career

In September 2020, Johnson was called up to the senior Wales squad for the first time. Johnson made his Wales debut in a 0–0 draw against the United States (US) on 12 November 2020. He made his first start for Wales against Finland on 1 September 2021, in which he was fouled and won a penalty. This chance was taken by Wales teammate Harry Wilson but blocked by Finland keeper Carljohan Eriksson. Johnson scored his first goal for Wales on 11 June 2022 in a 1–1 UEFA Nations League draw against Belgium.

In November 2022, Johnson was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This was the first time the nation had qualified for the tournament since the 1958 FIFA World Cup. The team's first match of the campaign was a 1–1 draw against the US on 21 November 2022, where Johnson was substituted on for Neco Williams in the 78th minute. He made an attempt at goal from the right side of the box which was saved by US goalkeeper Matt Turner. Their next match was a 2–0 defeat to Iran, where Johnson was substituted onto the pitch for Connor Roberts in the 57th minute. The final match of the campaign for Wales was a 3–0 defeat against England. This was the Welsh men's national team's second time facing England in a major tournament, the first being six years prior in the UEFA Euro 2016, and Johnson's first time against the team. Johnson was substituted onto the field for Gareth Bale in the 46th minute. This ended Wales' World Cup 2022 campaign with Wales at the bottom of their group with 1 point.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Wales' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Johnson goal''

Honours

Nottingham Forest
*EFL Championship play-offs: 2022

Tottenham Hotspur
*UEFA Europa League: 2024–25

Individual
*EFL Young Player of the Month: September 2021
* EFL Championship Young Player of the Season: 2021–22
*EFL Championship Player of the Month: April 2022

References

External links

Profile
at the Tottenham Hotspur F.C. website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Brennan
2001 births
Living people
Footballers from Nottingham
English men's footballers
Welsh men's footballers
21st-century Welsh sportsmen
Men's association football forwards
Nottingham Forest F.C. players
Lincoln City F.C. players
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
English Football League players
Premier League players
England men's youth international footballers
Wales men's youth international footballers
Wales men's under-21 international footballers
Wales men's international footballers
2022 FIFA World Cup players
English people of Jamaican descent
Sportspeople of Jamaican descent
English people of Welsh descent
Welsh people of Jamaican descent
21st-century English sportsmen
UEFA Europa League–winning players