What's Up With Wales And Spurs 'mystery' Johnson?

World Cup qualifier: Liechtenstein v Wales

Venue: Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz Date: Saturday, 15 November Kick-off: 17:00 GMT

Coverage: Live connected iPlayer, BBC One Wales, BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru, nan BBC Sport website and app, positive unrecorded matter commentary.

He scored nan winning extremity successful past season's Europa League last and costs Tottenham Hotspur £50m, making him nan 2nd astir costly Welshman successful history – 2nd only to nan awesome Gareth Bale.

So why, erstwhile Wales faced Belgium successful a captious World Cup qualifier past month, was Brennan Johnson dropped?

On nan look of it, nan 24-year-old should beryllium a figurehead for his country; a proven Premier League goalscorer successful a squad wherever astir players correspond clubs successful nan 2nd aliases 3rd tiers. Yet Johnson finds himself retired of favour.

With nan likes of Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Mathys Tel competing pinch him for a starting spot astatine Spurs, rotation is hardly a surprise.

But for Wales, Johnson would expect to beryllium 1 of nan first names connected nan squad expanse – moreover if his performances person underwhelmed for immoderate time.

It was still significant, then, erstwhile caput coach Craig Bellamy relegated nan erstwhile Nottingham Forest guardant to nan chair against Belgium.

Wales reason their World Cup qualifying group pinch matches against Liechtenstein connected Saturday and North Macedonia 3 days later, each but definite to beryllium successful nan play-offs adjacent March.

Whether they will beryllium location aliases distant for nan semi-final is successful nan equilibrium – as, it seems, is Johnson's spot successful nan team.

To measure Johnson's profession pinch Wales, it is instructive to commencement from nan start.

He made his debut aged 19 successful November 2020. Then, aft missing retired connected nan squad for nan Covid-delayed Euro 2020 nan pursuing summer, it was not until nan 2022 World Cup run that he really established himself successful nan elder set-up.

Just arsenic Johnson's world profession was taking off, nan extremity was accelerated approaching for Wales' top subordinate of each time, Bale.

"Brennan's had a batch of unit and expectation," says erstwhile Wales striker Nathan Blake.

"I've been astir group who were already labelling him nan adjacent messiah and I was for illustration 'Stop putting that benignant of unit connected nan boy'. You person to fto him create into immoderate he becomes.

"If he becomes nan adjacent Gareth Bale, great. But I ever say, I don't want to spot nan adjacent Gareth Bale, I want to spot nan first Brennan Johnson. Right? Because he's different to Gareth Bale. They're not nan aforesaid person."

Bale was irreplaceable. As good arsenic being Wales' grounds goalscorer and headdress holder, Bale was a generational talent, a freak of nature, a magician who could alteration nan people of a lucifer each connected his own. He was a one-off. As Bellamy says: "There's nary adjacent Gareth Bale."

Nobody expected Johnson – aliases immoderate of his team-mates – to standard those aforesaid superhuman heights arsenic Bale, but nan erstwhile Real Madrid superstar's status successful January 2023 created a void.

Wales had promising attacking players coming done successful nan shape of Harry Wilson, David Brooks and others but, erstwhile Johnson joined Spurs for £50m little than 8 months aft Bale's departure, nan scrutiny of his performances intensified.

While Wilson has thrived pinch nan added work and scored six goals successful his 12 games nether Bellamy, Johnson has nan aforesaid tally from 40 caps.

Whether he has played successful his favoured correct helping position aliases arsenic a centre-forward, Johnson has seemed lost; reluctant to return connected opponents connected immoderate occasions, hesitant successful shooting connected others and often turning to play a safe walk backwards.

Former Wales skipper Kath Morgan offered a blunt appraisal aft nan Belgium defeat: "He's a £50m subordinate allegedly but, I'm sorry, what is his publication to Wales? This is now consistently happening."

Blake is besides disappointment by his caller displays but strikes a much sympathetic tone.

"I deliberation we conscionable request to temper our expectations a bit," he says.

"Since he collapsed into nan first squad astatine Forest and to now astatine Spurs, I don't look astatine his crippled and opportunity it's developed that much.

"But that's not nan problem – nan problem is group are expecting nan adjacent level and it's conscionable not happened. I deliberation that's what's really and genuinely eating Brennan, nan anticipation connected him."

While nan spectre of Bale is inescapable pinch Wales, Johnson had different intolerable enactment to travel astatine Spurs, joining successful nan aforesaid transportation model that saw Harry Kane time off for Bayern Munich.

"He came successful astatine rather a weird clip for nan club. I'm not judge they really had a bully scheme for really to switch Kane," says Jack Pitt-Brooke, who covers Spurs for The Athletic.

"Johnson came successful astatine a difficult infinitesimal but, pinch injuries to different players, he ended up playing tons that twelvemonth and he was really beautiful good."

It helped that it was then-Spurs leader Ange Postecoglou who signed Johnson, who scored 23 goals successful each competitions during his first 2 seasons.

"He fitted what Ange wanted from wingers," Pitt-Brooke adds. "Really precocious and wide, scoring goals wherever a winger goes down 1 side, pulls nan shot backmost crossed nan box, and nan other broadside winger taps it in. Johnson was bully astatine some delivering that cross, and besides tapping it successful astatine nan acold post."

Under Postecoglou, Spurs won nan Europa League – pinch Johnson scoring nan victor successful nan last against Manchester United – but nan Australian was sacked this summertime aft nan nine vanished 17th successful nan Premier League.

Thomas Frank replaced him – and nan Dane replaced Johnson, pinch Kudus.

"Frank wants to play a different way, and he wants his wingers to do a batch much connected nan shot than conscionable people tap-ins," says Pitt-Brooke.

"Spurs paid £55m for Kudus, who doesn't people galore goals, but everything until he gets to nan guidance extremity is overmuch amended than Johnson.

"At nan moment, I don't deliberation immoderate Spurs instrumentality would person Johnson successful their first-choice team. It's not really clear wherever he fits."

Johnson has managed 4 goals successful his 17 appearances successful each competitions this play but, according to galore supporters and pundits, does not connection overmuch else.

"He doesn't really do a batch isolated from scoring goals," says Pitt-Brooke. "There are evidently worse things to beryllium than a feline who's conscionable known for scoring goals, but I deliberation group would astir apt person expected him to person done more.

"He's a spot of a mystery."

Johnson does not look nan aforesaid title for his spot pinch Wales, which is why his benching against Belgium was truthful striking – contempt his indifferent form.

Although he prefers to play connected nan right, Johnson has played up front, but Oxford United's Mark Harris – without a extremity successful 29 games for nine and state – started arsenic nan centre-forward.

"That would person been a large punch successful nan star plexus for Brennan," says Blake. "In a crippled of that magnitude."

Considering Wales needed to triumph to support live their hopes of qualifying automatically for nan World Cup, this was a blunt connection from Bellamy to Johnson, who only appeared arsenic a substitute pinch half an hr to play.

When a rat made its measurement connected to nan pitch, Johnson was 1 of nan players who tried to usher it disconnected to nan sidelines. Some Wales fans connected societal media joked that was his astir telling publication of nan full evening.

"He's not being selected by Spurs, he's not being selected for Wales, truthful there's a large mobility people connected really you travel backmost aft that," Blake adds.

"Regardless of what we say, it's only Brennan who tin get backmost connected way and unopen immoderate societal media sound up, unopen immoderate instrumentality sound up.

"Fans are not haters. They'll dislike your courage for missing a chance but, a infinitesimal later, you people a goal, they perfectly adore you."

Johnson will get a chance to triumph complete nan sceptics astatine immoderate shape during these last 2 games of Wales' World Cup qualifying group, peculiarly arsenic their attacking options person been deed by striker Kieffer Moore's withdrawal done injury.

Yet arsenic Bellamy demonstrated against Belgium only past month, nary matter really important nan crippled aliases really celebrated nan player, cipher is judge of their place.

"I consciousness for nan lad because it's not bully erstwhile nan world is talking astir you," says Blake.

"But it comes pinch nan territory. He's sewage activity to do."