Martin Keown was simply amazed by one Tottenham Hotspur player in yesterday’s comeback win against Luton Town.
Ange Postecoglou eventually saw his side win three points on their Premier League return, an afternoon in which they couldn’t afford to lose ground to their top four rivals.
Tottenham were again guilty of starting slowly, conceding a first half goal to Luton that really disappointed their manager.
Spurs were by no means poor throughout, they seemed to control the game against a Luton side playing with real spirit, but it was a tale of taking their chances in the second half.
If there was going to be a hero it was always going to be captain Son Heung-min, who grabbed the goal to make it 2-1 late on.
However, when speaking on the BBC’s Match of the Day, Martin Keown thought Tottenham owed the victory to a different player against Luton yesterday.
Keown was amazed by the impact of Brennan Johnson who replaced Dejan Kulusevski at half-time.
Martin Keown thought Brennan Johnson was vital to Tottenham’s comeback yesterday
The pundit thought Kulusevski was cutting inside far too much and Johnson provided a really impactful alternative.
He explained: “He’s a right footed player so everything that comes from him invariably is going to be a cross across the box, and look they paid £47m for him, quite a lot of money, but I just feel that he’s a special player.
“He had the disappointment of not making it to the Euros this summer in midweek – didn’t affect him.
“He’s got really good pace, look here, give and go, but it’s that change of pace they [Luton] can’t deal with.
“This pace is electric, really is electric, he just stands people up, he did it again, [Pedro] Porro should be putting that one in.
“And his closing down [Johnson], his intensity, I really like his work ethic as well – gets after the Luton goalkeeper.
Keown summarised: “He plays a major part in the goal, ultimately the winning goal which was tough on Luton because I thought they did really well, really galant in their performance, put a good fight in.
“He’s [Johnson] keeping that with on the right hand side, [Timo] Werner on the left, he just arrives in the box and he’s got a really good presence of mind, he knows Son [Heung-min] is there, he can see him and just lays it off for him.”
Straight into Ange Postecoglou’s starting XI against West Ham?
Of course, following Keown’s praise of yesterday’s performance, it seems almost certain that Johnson should be sent straight into the Tottenham XI against West Ham United on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old is clearly brimming with talent, and it hard to even argue that he’s inconsistent these days.
Postecoglou must know that he has an immense talent on his hands, and will be trying to get his minutes and chances right, balancing his squad in several areas.
That being said, Alan Shearer was left praising a different Tottenham player after yesterday’s win.
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