Nottingham Forest have surprised many people this season, having gone from rock bottom of the EFL Championship in September to just one win away from being promoted to the Premier League after a period of 23 years. One of their star men has been the youngster Brennan Johnson. The 21-year-old Welshman has had a breakthrough campaign in the EFL Championship at the City Ground and has even managed to win the Young Player of the Season award. During the season, Johnson has won the Young Player of the Month and the Player of the Month on one occasion each.
Johnson has netted 16 goals in this season of the EFL Championship. Seen in the above visual is his shot map for Nottingham Forest. All of his 16 goals have come from inside the box this season. He has attempted 86 shots this season, of which 36 have been on target. This means Brennan Johnson is testing the opposition goalkeepers on a regular basis as his shot accuracy stands at 41.86%. Some of these on-target attempts have also come from outside the box.
Operating as a right-winger, it is no surprise to see Johnson having the highest impact in the final third. The Welshman has completed 85 crosses this season or just under two a game. He has also completed several progressive carries, carries into the final third and carries into the penalty area. He has drawn 58 fouls through the season. Johnson has made 38 tackles and interceptions, meaning he completes less than one defensive action per game.
Seen in the above visual are the pass sonar, xT timeline and xT map of Johnson in the EFL Championship this season. Johnson has created the most threat from the right flank, as it is his natural position, but the Welshman has also produced threat from the left wing on a few occasions. The 23-year-old has regularly created an xT value of 1.0, occasionally touching 1.5. His sideways passes into the penalty area have created as much threat as his forward passes.
The performance of Brennan Johnson has impressed the fans of Nottingham Forest, and they will be hoping that he can perform as good as he has this season for just one more game. If Nottingham Forest manage to win a promotion to the Premier League for the 2022-23 season, some of the credit should go to the Welshman. Even if Forest do not win promotion, the Welshman is destined for bigger things. He could be a good Premier League player if he continues his development and stays injury-free.
