At any normal club, Brennan Johnson would be hailed as an icon and a legend. However, Tottenham Hotspur are not an ordinary club.
At the back end of 2024/25, Johnson was the man who scored the winning goal in a European final. Truthfully, it’s the only positive of the last two years as Spurs fought against relegation.
His departure midway through last season, therefore, was perhaps a surprise. It was very nearly a decision that cost them big time in their bid to beat the drop.
How Johnson’s sale nearly cost Spurs dearly
In 2024/25, Johnson actually ended the campaign as Tottenham’s top scorer. He bagged 18 in all competitions, with 11 of those coming in the Premier League and five coming en route to winning the Europa League.
It was a mighty fine campaign for the Welshman who at one stage scored in seven consecutive games. In the process, he became the first Spurs player in six years to score in six straight games. The last player? Harry Kane, of course.
Therefore, had you told Johnson that eight months later he would be given the boot, there is no way he’d have believed you.
Alas, after just two goals in his first 16 Premier League matches of 2025/26, Spurs took the decision to cash in, selling him to Crystal Palace for £35m.
While his form dictated that he wasn’t up to scratch last season, his sale did almost prove disastrous. Why? Well, Mohammed Kudus suffered a quad injury in January and then in February another winger in the form of Wilson Odobert tore his ACL in February.
As a result, it left Spurs extremely short in forward positions. Is it really any surprise Igor Tudor struggled to turn the tide after replacing Thomas Frank? Arguably not.
Kudus has only just returned to the first-team picture in recent weeks while Odobert remains on the sidelines. They have signed Omar Marmoush and Savio since, so Johnson is no longer missed but they very nearly found themselves in a situation where those two moves would not have been possible had they been relegated.
Spurs star looks like another Johnson
Despite Johnson’s electric 2024/25 season, the rest of his Spurs career was met with inconsistency. He was full of pace and a real livewire on the wings but the simple fact was that he lacked goals and assists.
During his debut season in north London, the Wales international scored just five times after a mega £47.5m transfer. It is safe to say he never really justified that mammoth fee.
Well in the present day, it looks like Spurs have signed another Johnson.
That player happens to be Mathys Tel. The Frenchman signed on an initial loan deal in the same winter that Johnson left and his move was later made permanent for £30m in the summer of 2025.
Well, much like Johnson, he has not been worth the fee. Like the Welshman, he’s full of pace; he’s an effervescent winger but he lacks end product.
As European football expert Neal Gardner once outlined, Tel had been billed as “the next Mbappe” during his time at Bayern Munich. He was regarded as one of the finest young forwards on the continent.
As a teenager, the attacker scored ten goals and supplied six assists for Bayern back in 2023/24 but after struggling for regular starts in 2024/25, he was loaned to Tottenham.
|
Mathys Tel career by season |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Goals |
Assists |
|
2022/23 |
6 |
0 |
|
2023/24 |
10 |
6 |
|
2024/25 |
3 |
2 |
|
2025/26 |
4 |
2 |
|
2026/27 |
0 |
0 |
While he has never looked like a regular starter in London, he did captivate fans with his performances during pre-season. Tel scored a wonderful free-kick against Sydney FC and was then on hand to provide two assists for Mikey Moore against Hoffenheim.
Tel was electric over the summer. Playing from the left wing, he was beating defenders with ease. Yet, in the rough and tumble of the Premier League, it has been another season to forget thus far.
Last term, the 21-year-old scored just four goals in all competitions. This term, he is without a goal or assist in his first six outings.
Spurs as a team have struggled significantly this season, particularly in the final third. It took them five games to finally score a Premier League goal and Tel was one of the reasons.
He’s now falling down the pecking order too. While he started the first three matches of the campaign, he only played 27 minutes off the bench in the 0-0 draw with Everton. The young Frenchman then wasn’t included in the squad for the 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa.
So, with Spurs looking to improve and with other options in the squad – Marmoush, Savio, Kudus, Xavi Simons and Mykhailo Mudryk can all feature off the left – Tel should be sold by ENIC.
He may not have been at Tottenham for very long but we have seen enough. He is never going to live up to the potential he displayed during that one season in Munich.