Three Premier League clubs Brennan Johnson could snub Crystal Palace to join in January
Aston Villa, Everton and Nottingham Forest should all be in the hunt to sign Brennan Johnson in January alongside Crystal Palace as Tottenham hatch a plan to let him depart.
Johnson made history for Tottenham back in May as he scored the winning goal in their 1-0 Europa League final win over Man United to deliver some long-awaited silverware to the North London club.
The Wales international forward struggled to nail down a starting place at Spurs in his first season after a 2023 move from Nottingham Forest, but kicked on last season and looked set to continue to be a key man following his iconic goal.
Things have not worked out for him under Thomas Frank so far, however, with just six Premier League starts this season and four goals in 20 appearances.
Football Insider recently revealed that Tottenham are open to letting Johnson leave on loan in January amid interest from Crystal Palace, and we have now looked at three other Premier League clubs who should make plans to sign him next month.
Aston Villa
Villa have work to do to shape their squad to Unai Emery’s liking in the new year, even though they are in fantastic form and currently sit third in the Premier League.
Attacking additions must be a priority, as Harvey Elliott looks set to return to Liverpool after a failed loan spell, while the likes of Jadon Sancho and Evann Guessand have not hit the heights so far since joining in the summer.
Johnson seems like the exact kind of loan signing that Emery would agree to, as, much like Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio last season, he has proven his quality at a high level and simply needs a fresh start to shine once more.
Everton
Everton have utilised the loan market to great effect recently with the capture of Jack Grealish from Man City, but still need some new impetus in the final third to really challenge for European qualification.
Iliman Ndiaye is their usual starter on the right wing, but can play as a number 10, and so Johnson’s arrival would allow Moyes to push Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall into a deeper role and use him on the right flank.
Their former CEO, Keith Wyness, recently told Football Insider that he believes Moyes will have money to spend on a new forward in January as they make a play to finish in the top seven, and an experienced, exciting attacker like Johnson could well make the difference in the second half of the campaign.
Nottingham Forest
Johnson emerged through Forest’s academy to make 109 appearances for his boyhood club between 2019 and 2023, and their fans still hold him in high regard after he fired them to promotion from the Championship with 18 goals in the 2021-22 season.
He still holds the Reds close to his heart, and would surely not turn down a return to the City Ground if such a move materialised in January.
Forest do have a lot of attacking options, but many are misfiring, with Dan Ndoye failing to adapt to the Premier League while the likes of Dilane Bakwa and Omari Hutchinson have also struggled.
There could be exits on the cards, with centre-forward Arnaud Kalimuendo linked to Roma, and thus the stars could align for Johnson to make an emotional homecoming to feature under Sean Dyche.