Brennan Johnson has opened up on what part of his game he is desperate to improve at Tottenham, and it is not just about goals
There is for sure going to be competition for places down on the right at Tottenham, with Mohammed Kudus and Brennan Johnson both set to fight for minutes in Thomas Frank’s front line.
The pair offer very different profiles, each possessing qualities that the other does not quite bring to the table. Brennan Johnson has a clear goal threat and instinctive finishing ability, though his work rate off the ball and his one-versus-one dribbling are areas that still leave questions.
Mohammed Kudus, on the other hand, is not the most prolific forward, but he does excel in beating his man, and Kudus has already shown during pre-season that he is willing to track back and get stuck in when his team are out of possession.
Brennan Johnson explains what he is working on ahead of the new Tottenham season
With no guarantees of a starting berth on the right-hand side, Brennan Johnson has spoken about what part of his game he is focusing on improving.
In an interview with football.london, Johnson admitted that he is placing a heavy emphasis on his final product. The winger also highlighted the need to sharpen his one-on-one dribbling and become more direct when driving at defenders.
He said: “I am all about my final product. There are a lot of things I want to do. On the ball I want to be better in one-v-one dribbling situations, that is something I looked back on last season and was always trying to improve, and I think I did towards the end.”
He added that becoming more aggressive in the final third and adding more variety to his finishing are high on the list.
He continued: “Directness. More of a forward-thinking mentality from me and of course scoring goals. I scored a lot with one touch. I am trying to improve my left foot, shooting off the dribble. I always look back at how I did last season and there are a lot of positives to take forward. Now it is about trying to get an overall better game and I am working on it.”
Johnson has already shown glimpses of that development, having scored a stunning goal from outside the box against Newcastle United in pre-season, proving that he is capable of mixing up his finishing techniques.
Johnson is benefiting from Justin Cochrane’s training work with Spurs forwards
There has also been a noticeable influence from Justin Cochrane, according to Johnson, who is now part of Thomas Frank’s staff and works closely with the attacking players.
Cochrane, who was recently involved with England under Thomas Tuchel, is now back at Spurs and has clearly made a quick impression on Johnson, helping the wide forward with his finishing.
“It has been really good. Justin is a great coach. The drills he does are super realistic to games. He is really good at working on finishes that people do. It feels like it is almost instinct,” Johnson explained
“He practises getting the contact right. A lot of finishing, dribbling, movement, which I think is really important. We have such good attacking options and it is nice to learn off the people you are with and see how they like to score and take bits from everyone. Justin has been really good so far,” he added.
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