If Craig Bellamy were Tottenham Hotspur manager, he insists there is no doubt that he would have signed Brennan Johnson.
“Would I have paid £50 odd million? Yes. And more,” the new Wales national team head coach said. “So that gives you a certain level of what I see with this player. I’m looking forward to that as well.”
Bellamy’s vote of confidence of the 23-year-old winger arrives at a time when the success of Johnson’s first season in north London and his ongoing influence in the Wales national team has become a popular topic for adjudication.
Johnson, who joined Spurs from Nottingham Forest last summer, became a target for grumbling discontent in pockets of the Spurs and Wales fan bases amid stagnating results. Many in north London viewed the £47.5million paid for his services as indication of ready-made superstardom, despite the significant step-up in demands.
An initial plan of integration under manager Ange Postecoglou was derailed amid injuries to Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon. Johnson was thrust into the deep end earlier than expected, leaving him looking bereft of confidence by late January amid increasing scrutiny of his performances, which saw him supply just four assists and one goal in 18 Premier League appearances.
A spell on the bench revived Johnson’s season, and the Wales international went on to register five goals and 10 assists by the season’s end, including a memorable 96th-minute winner against Brighton & Hove Albion. Only Son Heung-min had more goal contributions for Spurs in the Premier League, while only Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins (13) and Chelsea ’s Cole Palmer (11) claimed more assists.
And Bellamy believes time was needed for Johnson to adjust to the rigours of the English top-flight, as well as the tactical demands of Postecoglou’s system (Johnson was afforded attacking carte blanche under former Forest boss Steve Cooper).
“As a young player going to big clubs, it's not easy,” said the former Newcastle United striker. “It takes time sometimes. Because the expectation goes up and the competition goes up. And some players really get to it straight away, like a duck to water. Off they go. And then some take a little bit longer.
“But I believe if you really have that genuine quality it will come. It comes out like it always comes out in the end.
“I see a player that has way more. And I'm sure it's going to come up very very soon.”
His prediction will be seized upon not only by eager Tottenham fans but Wales fans as well. If Johnson was a victim of expectations at club level, the same could be argued on the national stage, where Johnson was hoped to carry on the talismanic torch after Gareth Bale’s retirement.
Johnson’s return of just three goals and three assists in 30 games has been a sticking point for many Wales supporters, particularly after the failed Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, the first campaign in 15 years without the mastery of Bale.
Bale reached Johnson’s current tally of three goals and three assists by his 27th senior Wales cap, albeit having played significantly more minutes than Johnson. By his 30th cap, the Real Madrid legend had registered five assists and three goals. The haul rose to 10 goals and 11 assists by his 40th appearance, before Bale eventually became the national team’s all-time record goalscorer with 40 in a record 111 appearances.
Bale, too, trundled through a slow start to his Tottenham career, abetted by his assignment as a left-back under manager Harry Redknapp. Yet, the five-time Champions League winner would eventually go on to be one of the club’s greatest-ever players and responsible for one of the Premier League’s most scintillating individual seasons in recent history.
A fiery and uncompromising goalscorer in the Premier League, Bellamy’s appointment as the new head of Wales has been met with anticipation over his potential guidance in Johnson’s trajectory.
Johnson has often been charged by Wales fans as not only failing to impact games on big occasions but a lax workrate off the ball, a spectre Bellamy is unlikely to entertain. Bellamy described his playing philosophy as a balance of “love” and “non-negotiables”. The alchemy could be precisely what’s required to get the most out of a player Wales fans have long tipped as their next salvation.
“I have certain beliefs in the sense that this is what I like and this is what I really would prefer you to be able to do - especially off the ball, then I'm a little bit more non-negotiable,” Bellamy said. “But with the ball, I'm quite caring, more about love. I need you to feel free. If you give the ball away and you're hearing me in the background yelling, that's not going to improve you. It's not going to help you get the ball next time.
"I'm supportive. Because I need those decisions. I need you to be you. And you're only here because of you. Because you're a good player, otherwise you wouldn't be here. So why not allow you to be the best you can be? I can't put shackles on.”
Asked whether this approach would aid a player like Johnson, he said: “I would hope so. I know it's what I would like to hear. Even though I carried myself as very confident, and at times I definitely was, but deep down there was always doubt. It's normal.
"I see a player in Brennan who's an incredible footballer. He hits all the marks you'd want him to hit. I believe there's so much more to come.
"And I'd like to be able to see that with Wales as well. I'm sure we will. Because what he can offer he's elite. Really elite. Now maybe he needs to be a little bit more selfish, a little bit more ruthless to back the ability he has. And that's exciting for me as well.”