€55m deal
Tottenham announce transfer - Why everyone wanted to sign Brennan Johnson
©TM/IMAGO
Nottingham Forest undoubtedly proved the doubters wrong last season by avoiding the drop by a mere four points and managing to secure their Premier League status for another season. Despite concerns over the club’s gung-ho approach to the transfer window and calls to sack head coach Steve Cooper, the Reds certainly did things their own way, and in the end, if proved to be the right call.
But Nottingham start the season with a major setback as their star player Brennan Johnson has now joined Tottenham. Both clubs made the transfer official in the final minutes of deadline day on Friday. Nottingham Forest will receive €55m. Johnson is now the most expensive outgoing transfer in Forest's history.
It is a significant fee for a young player. But Johnson has shown that he is worth the buzz. While Forest can call on a number of impressive players, no star embodies the club’s determination to solidify their spot in the English top-flight quite like young forward Johnson. Having worked his way up the ranks from the club’s youth academy to where he now leads the team’s attacking line, Johnson is undoubtedly the jewel in Forest’s crown and their best bet for avoiding relegation this season.
How good is Brennan Johnson?
Johnson made his debut for Forest at the age of 18 and over the course of the last four years he has quickly established himself as one of English and Welsh football’s most exciting talents. After an impressive season on loan at League One side Lincoln City, in which Johnson bagged 10 goals and 12 assists in 40 games, the Nottingham-born talent was then fast-tracked into Cooper’s team for the 2021/22 Championship season. There, Johnson needed little time adapting to a higher standard of football and scored 16 goals and nine assists, before bagging a further two goals in the league play-offs to win promotion to the Premier League.
Much of the intrigue in Johnson has undoubtedly since come from the manner in which he has taken to each new league like a duck to water. Shortly after surprising many in the Championship, Johnson then took to last season’s Premier League with relative ease and bagged eight goals and three assists in 38 league games. Which was the joint-top return for goals and assists for a Forest player, alongside Taiwo Awoniyi. And few would doubt that Johnson could improve on that tally this season with an improved Forest side or, indeed, at a bigger club.
Man United, Barcelona & Co. - The highest average attendances in 2022/23
40 1. FC Kaiserslautern - Fritz-Walter-Stadion - Average attendance: 40,023
© IMAGO
Capacity: 49,850
Only league matches of European clubs were taken into account
39 Valencia - Mestalla - Average attendance: 40,405
© IMAGO
Capacity: 48,600
38 Werder Bremen - Weserstadion - Average attendance: 41,526
© IMAGO
Capacity: 42,100
37 Athletic Club - San Mamés - Average attendance: 41,539
© IMAGO
Capacity: 53,289
36 Aston Villa - Villa Park - Average attendance: 41,649
© IMAGO
Capacity: 42,682
35 Lazio - Olimpico di Roma - Average attendance: 43,567
© IMAGO
Capacity: 73,261
34 Galatasaray - NEF Stadyumu - Average attendance: 44,845
© IMAGO
Capacity: 52,223
33 Olympique Lyon - Groupama Stadium - Average attendance: 45,511
© IMAGO
Capacity: 59,186
32 RB Leipzig - Red Bull Arena - Average attendance: 45,554
© IMAGO
Capacity: 47,069
31 Napoli - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona - Average attendance: 45,866
© IMAGO
Capacity: 54,726
30 PSG - Parc des Princes - Average attendance: 46,136
© IMAGO
Capacity: 49,691
29 VfB Stuttgart - Mercedes-Benz Arena - Average attendance: 46,363
© IMAGO
Capacity: 60,449
28 Feyenoord - De Kuip - Average attendance: 47,500
© IMAGO
Capacity: 47,500
27 Rangers - Ibrox Stadium - Average attendance: 49,232
© IMAGO
Capacity: 50,987
26 1. FC Köln - RheinEnergieSTADION - Average attendance: 49,750
© IMAGO
Capacity: 50,000
25 Eintracht Frankfurt - Deutsche Bank Park - Average attendance: 49,981
© IMAGO
Capacity: 51,500
24 Real Betis - Benito Villamarín - Average attendance: 50,336
© IMAGO
Capacity: 59,378
23 Newcastle - St James' Park - Average attendance: 52,127
© IMAGO
Capacity: 52,338
22 Gladbach - Stadion im Borussia-Park - Average attendance: 52,453
© IMAGO
Capacity: 54,042
21 Liverpool - Anfield - Average attendance: 53,177
© IMAGO
Capacity: 54,074
20 Manchester City - Etihad Stadium - Average attendance: 53,249
© IMAGO
Capacity: 55,017
19 Hamburger SV - Volksparkstadion - Average attendance: 53,470
© IMAGO
Capacity: 57,000
18 Ajax - Johan Cruijff ArenA - Average attendance: 53,582
© IMAGO
Capacity: 55,600
17 Hertha BSC - Olympiastadion Berlin - Average attendance: 53,652
© IMAGO
Capacity: 74,649
16 Atlético - Civitas Metropolitano - Average attendance: 55,780
© IMAGO
Capacity: 68,456
15 Benfica - Estádio da Luz - Average attendance: 56,448
© IMAGO
Capacity: 65,000
14 Real Madrid - Santiago Bernabéu - Average attendance: 57,038
© IMAGO
Capacity: 81,044
13 Celtic - Celtic Park - Average attendance: 58,828
© IMAGO
Capacity: 60,832
12 West Ham - London Stadium - Average attendance: 58,990
© IMAGO
Capacity: 62,500
11 Arsenal - Emirates Stadium - Average attendance: 60,196
© IMAGO
Kapazität: 60,704
10 Schalke 04 - Veltins-Arena - Average attendance: 61,133
© IMAGO
Capacity: 62,271
9 Tottenham - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - Average attendance: 61,620
© IMAGO
Capacity: 62,062
8 AS Roma - Olimpico di Roma - Average attendance: 62,022
© IMAGO
Capacity: 73,261
7 Olympique Marseille - Orange Vélodrome - Average attendance: 62,673
© IMAGO
Capacity: 67,394
6 AC Milan - San Siro - Average attendance: 71,868
© IMAGO
Capacity: 75,923
5 Inter Milan - San Siro - Average attendance: 72,655
© Transfermarkt
Capacity: 75,923
4 Man United - Old Trafford - Average attendance: 73,886
© IMAGO
Capacity: 74,879
3 Bayern Munich - Allianz Arena - Average attendance: 75,006
© IMAGO
Capacity: 75,024
2 Borussia Dortmund - Signal Iduna park - Average attendance: 81,219
© IMAGO
Capacity: 81,365
1 Barcelona - Spotify Camp Nou - Average attendance: 83,205
© IMAGO
Capacity: 99,354