Tottenham Hotspur’s squad has come a long way in such a short space of time, with Thomas Frank the current beneficiary of the hierarchy’s impressive recruitment.
Managers like Antonio Conte have tried and failed to transform the club, subsequently being unable to bring the success the fans have desired to North London.
The Italian ultimately left the club back in March 2023 despite achieving a 53% win percentage, with Ange Postecoglou taking over ahead of the following campaign.
In the last couple of years, the hierarchy have spent big on the transfer window to try and take the club to the next level and achieve a sustained period of success – whether that be in the Premier League or Europe.
One of the players brought in during such a period has demonstrated his talents for the Lilywhites, but has also come under fire for his lack of impact at certain times of his spell at the club.
The ups and downs of Brennan Johnson’s Spurs career
Brennan Johnson joined Spurs for a reported £47.5m back in the summer of 2023, arriving with high expectations after netting 10 goals and registering three assists for Nottingham Forest the year prior.
The Welshman has endured a topsy-turvy time in North London to date, only scoring five times in his first season at the club – leading to unjustifiable abuse from the supporters.
Such a situation would lead to the winger deleting his social media accounts, but it would lead to a huge upturn in form and securing his place as a regular starter once again.
Johnson would score 18 times across all competitions last campaign – the most of any player in the squad – even netting the winner in the Europa League final against Manchester United.
The goal against the Red Devils ended the Lilywhites’ 17-year wait for any form of silverware, subsequently handing a generation of supporters memories to last a lifetime.
Whilst scoring twice in as many outings at the start of 2025/26, Johnson has since fallen down the pecking order of late, failing to make a single start in the Premier League since the end of August.
As a result, he’s subsequently being outperformed by one former Spurs star who may have been harshly sold given his lack of first-team action in North London.
The former Spurs star who is playing better than Johnson
Whilst Spurs have spent big in the transfer market over the last couple of seasons, numerous players have had to be sacrificed to help balance the books to avoid any financial implications.
Harry Kane has been the biggest player to depart North London over recent windows, leaving in a mammoth £82m transfer to join Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
The Englishman has left a huge gap in the first-team squad, unsurprisingly so given his tally of 280 goals for the Lilywhites – the most by any player in the club’s history.
He wasn’t the only attacker that was sacrificed by the club to raise funds, with former boss Conte deciding to offload winger Jack Clarke to Sunderland back in the summer of 2022.
The winger joined the club from Championship side Leeds United for a fee in the region of £10m, with his addition seeing the club land themselves a star for the future.
However, it’s safe to say his time in North London failed to live up to expectations, as Clarke was restricted to only four senior appearances for the club – none of which came in the Premier League.
After countless loan spells away from the Lilywhites, he would move on a permanent basis to join the Black Cats three years after his transfer – subsequently unable to have the impact he desired.
Fast forward to the present day, the 24-year-old now plies his trade for Ipswich Town after joining them for £15m last summer, now becoming a key member of their current first-team squad.
Clarke has now scored three times and registered one assist for the Tractor Boys, a tally higher than that of Johnson, who’s only scored twice in the 2025/26 campaign.
Games played
9
Goals & assists
4
Pass accuracy
78%
Chances created
1.3
Cross accuracy
67%
Successful dribbles
2.3
Tackles won
1.8
Fouls won
2.1
There’s no denying the Englishman is achieving such heights in a lower division, but it’s clear that he’s a player full of confidence at present – but the same can’t be said for the Welshman.
Frank needs to give Johnson the support he needs to get back to the levels he produced last season, with his drop in from in recent weeks a huge concern to everyone involved with the club.
As for Clarke, it’s great to see a former player finally fulfilling the potential he arrived with, but it’s a real shame that he’s not doing so in the whites of Tottenham.
His departure may have been a tad premature, but unfortunately for the fanbase, he will now remain a case of what could’ve been with their loss now Ipswich’s gain.