Tottenham Hotspur got their Premier League campaign underway in underwhelming fashion last night with a 1-1 draw away to Leicester City.
Ange Postecoglou's side were far and away the better team in the first half but struggled to put away their chances before Jamie Vardy punished them in the second 45.
There were a couple of good performers for the North Londoners, such as goalscorer Pedro Porro, but there were more disappointing displays, especially in attack.
One of those who failed to provide much was Brennan Johnson, and if the Lilywhites want to get the most out of Dominic Solanke this season, they may want to consider signing a new rightwinger. Interestingly, they have already been linked with someone who'd be the perfect solution this summer.
Johnson and Solanke vs Leicester
So, the first thing to point out is that while Johnson is a talented winger, and certainly of the level required to play in the Premier League, there are still question marks over whether he's good enough to play for a top side like Spurs, and unfortunately for him, his performance last night did little to sway those concerns.
In his 79 minutes on the pitch, he struggled to have any impact at all, and aside from a shot in the first half that was straight at the Foxes' keeper, he looked largely clueless on the ball and seemingly unable to time a run off of it.
Unsurprisingly, he failed to impress football.london's Spurs correspondent, Alasdair Gold, who gave him a 4/10 at full-time and wrote that he was 'not decisive enough in his play.'
In contrast, Solanke looked lively on his debut for the club, and while he'll be disappointed that he couldn't put away the chances he had, the signs were positive, and given that it was his first game in about three weeks, the rustiness is entirely understandable.
The £65m marksman looks like he could be the goalscorer that Postecoglou and the fans have been after ever since Harry Kane left last summer, but to get the most out of him, a new rightwinger might be needed, and the ideal candidate was already linked with the club earlier this summer.
How Coman could unlock Solanke
Yes, the player in question is Bayern Munich ace Kingsley Coman, who was touted for a move to Spurs earlier this month.
The report revealed that the North Londoners are keen to sign a new wide player this summer, and the Frenchman was one of the players they were interested in.
The good news for Daniel Levy and Co is that other reports from this month claimed that Bayern would be willing to sell the talented winger for just £34m, or better yet, loan him out for the season.
However, would the former Paris Saint-Germain gem really help unlock Solanke more than Johnson? Yes, yes, he would.
The primary reason the "1v1 specialist", as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, would be a better teammate for the striker than the former Forest man is that over the last two seasons, he has maintained a more impressive goal involvement-to-game ratio.
For example, in his 62 appearances across the 22/23 and 23/24 campaigns, he produced 24 goals and assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement once every 2.58 games.
In contrast, the Welshman produced 28 goals and assists in 82 games across the same period, which breaks down to a goal involvement on average every 2.92 games.
Just imagine how much more effective the former Bournemouth ace would be playing alongside the rapid Frenchman, who'd either be able to provide him with a brilliant pass to bury in the back of the net or terrify defenders with his brilliant skills and, therefore, open up more space for the Englishman to exploit himself.
Lastly, the Bayern ace has been playing at the highest level for most of his career, so he could bring a much-needed winning mentality to Postecoglou's squad, which could help them avoid collapses like the one they suffered against Leicester.
Ultimately, while Johnson isn't a bad player, he doesn't look like the type of winger who will supercharge Solanke or help Spurs climb up the league. Therefore, Levy and Co should return for Coman before the window slams shut.