Tottenham star forced to watch Raheem Sterling clips to improve his game
Wales boss Craig Bellamy has lifted the lid on the secret behind Brennan Johnson’s eye for goals with Tottenham this season, revealing it’s all down to a very specific coaching method inspired by a Premier League star.
Brennan Johnson is currently enjoying his best goalscoring campaign in the Premier League. On Sunday afternoon, his brace against Southampton saw him surpass double figures, recording his eleventh goal of the season.
That was a major career milestone for Johnson, who has now scored 10+ goals for the first time in a Premier League season.
It also makes him only the second Welshman to reach that feat, following in the footsteps of ex-Spurs icon Gareth Bale.
Brennan Johnson is benefitting from Raheem Sterling-inspired training
This season, Johnson’s trademark finish has been ghosting in at the back post to tuck away cutbacks from crosses.
We saw it again on Sunday—Tottenham’s first goal came when he was quickest to react to Djed Spence’s cutback from the byline on the left. His Wales boss has now lifted the lid on what’s behind those instinctive finishes.
According to Craig Bellamy, he’s been drilling Johnson using clips of Raheem Sterling—who made a name for himself at Manchester City by constantly popping up in those same areas.
Bellamy told Sky Sports: “A lot of his goals have come from these types of positions. We showed him this at the start of September when we first met up.
“Whether he liked it or not, we showed him a lot of Raheem Sterling’s finishing—just about his positioning, because I’m really big with that for the wingers.
“I expect the one on the opposite side to be on the back post because it’s very difficult for the full-backs. With his running ability, there’s no excuse for him not to be on the back post.”
More Sterling comparisons as Johnson continues to shine for Tottenham
It’s interesting to note that these comparisons to Raheem Sterling didn’t just pop up now. Earlier in the season, after Tottenham’s Europa League clash with AS Roma in the league phase, Spurs legend Glenn Hoddle also drew a line between Johnson and Sterling.
“I’ve got a player who started doing that at Man City and started scoring loads of goals from those type of positions—Sterling,” Hoddle said.
“Sterling started to do that and everyone thought he’s a goalscorer now, and it wasn’t outside the box, it was all in between that six-yard box and the penalty spot, and that is what Johnson is doing for Tottenham.”
Of course, following his sharp display against the Saints, Ange Postecoglou was also quick to dish out praise to his top Brennan Johnson, calling him the biggest goal threat around.
With Johnson hitting form just before Tottenham’s Europa League tie against Frankfurt, it’s fair to expect he’ll keep his spot on the right of Spurs’ attack.
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