Tottenham decided their Europa League final-winning hero Brennan Johnson was free to leave the club in January when he signed for Crystal Palace
Brennan Johnson in eyeing UEFA Conference League final glory with Crystal Palace
Brennan Johnson admits he still hasn’t had time to properly process his Tottenham departure.
The Welshman, who scored the winning goal for Spurs in the Europa League final last season against Manchester United in Bilbao, was told he was free to find a new club in January after falling out of favour under Thomas Frank.
Since then, Mohamed Kudus, Tottenham’s other right winger, missed the remainder of the season through injury, Frank was replaced by Igor Tudor and both were sacked before Spurs stayed in the Premier League by the skin of their teeth on the final day of the season.
Johnson had a whole host of options, Bournemouth, Everton and Sunderland were among those interested but in the end, Crystal Palace edged the transfer battle for the 25-year-old’s signature.
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He said when pushed on the toughness of the ordeal: “Yeah, it’s something that I haven’t had the time to reflect on, to be honest, just because of how it works in January.
“I literally signed and two days later, I was up in Newcastle playing. It happened so fast. It was a new experience for me, changing teams mid-season. I’ll be honest, it was one that I probably struggled with a little bit at the time. It was all new, even though it was only in London. But it’s a new changing room, a new team, a new club.
“It was one that I didn’t really have too much time to reflect. But what I can say is the boys and the staff and the fans here have made me feel welcome. I owe a lot of thanks to them for making me feel at home here.”
Johnson also claimed he’s had to detach himself from Spurs and his emotional connection to the club amid their struggles.
Now, he could end his first season as a Crystal Palace player with European silverware following Europa League glory last term.
He explained: “Yeah, I think as a player, you have to have a little bit of a selfish aspect to yourself. I think at the end of the day, whatever happened happened in January and I ended up at Crystal Palace, an amazing club.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far. I feel like if I thought too much about what was going on at Tottenham, maybe I’d lose a bit of concentration and not be able to give it my all. So because it’s in January, it happened so fast, I just haven’t had the time to think about what happened at Tottenham.”
The versatile forward already has a Europa League tattoo on his right leg and he’s looking to add a Conference League one if Palace do the business in Leipzig.
He can’t help but dream of scoring the winning goal again – even if he’s yet to find the target since joining the Eagles.
Johnson added when asked if he wants to repeat history: “Of course, of course. It’s natural. Even if I’d scored, I feel like I want to be confident that I can always do that. I still have the confidence in me that I feel like I can help the team.
“But when it comes down to finals, I feel like the main thing is getting over the line, no matter how it takes and who scores, I think that’s more important.”
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