Ange Postecoglou reveals challenge he’s set £70k-per-week Tottenham player for the rest of the season

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has now revealed he has set one of his players a target for the remainder of the season.

The north London side were able to put their defeat against Fulham to bed with another late win, this time against Luton Town.

It was a game of missed opportunities for Spurs with several chances squandered inside the first half alone.

However, the second half saw a different Spurs appear out of the tunnel and a Heung-min Son strike completed the turnaround.

What Ange Postecoglou said about Brennan Johnson

The second 45 minutes saw Ange Postecoglou make a change in bringing on Brennan Johnson for the underwhelming Dejan Kulusevski.

And it was an inspired substitution with the Welshman coming on and changing the dynamic of the game.

Johnson provided Son with the assist for the winning goal and he also sent in the cross which Issa Kabore slammed into his own net.

This has now seen the 22-year-old return four goals and seven assists in the Premier League this season.

Over the course of his last 12 Premier League appearances, Johnson has been able to provide Tottenham with eight goal contributions.

Speaking after the game, Postecoglou revealed he has now set the £70k-per-week Johnson with a target for the remainder of the term on the back of his recent form.

He said: “I thought Brennan was excellent today. We felt at half-time bring him one with him and Timo really wide we could stretch him. I thought both wingers were outstanding in the second half. It was great for Brennan. He’s made quite a few impacts now off the bench. The challenge for him is to maintain that consistency. We know what a good player he can be and try to make an impact whenever he plays.”

Should Johnson start over Kulusevski vs West Ham?

Going into the game, there were question marks over who would start in the front line.

Richarlison was coming into the game having not featured for Brazil in the international break due to an injury issue.

And then that left questions whether Son would start through the middle and whether Timo Werner could potentially return to the starting XI having not been away on international duty.

Despite Johnson’s recent form and Kulusevski’s lack of form, in comparison, it was the Swede who got the nod from Postecoglou.

That is a decision which the 58-year-old may have regretted after he decided to hook the 23-year-old off at half time.

Following the game, Postecoglou commented on Kulusevski’s display. He said: “I think Deki was trying to get maybe too involved in the game a little bit. He went looking for the ball, he’s that kind of player – wants to be on the ball all the time. I just thought we had a different structure in the second half.”

Perhaps the narrative may have been slightly different had Son taken his chance in the first half, but here is a summary of how Kulusevski’s first half played out.

• 45 minutes
• 32 touches
• 2 big chances created
• 10x possession lost
• 3 fouls
• 0 attempted dribbles
• 3/7 ground duels won
• 2 tackles

Statistics via SofaScore.

It just may not have been Kulusevski’s day, but the difference Johnson provided from the bench is likely to make it hard for Postecoglou ahead of the trip across London on Tuesday.

And it is fair to say Guglielmo Vicario and Micky van de Ven were both seriously impressed with what they saw from the Welshman going by their comments after the game.