Brennan Johnson is benefiting from the “extreme” demands placed on him by Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou and proving himself to be an elite player, says his Wales manager Rob Page.
Johnson has taken time to settle at Spurs following his £47.5million move from Nottingham Forest during the closing minutes of the summer transfer window.
The 22-year-old forward has yet to score and suffered a hamstring injury on his first Premier League start for Tottenham, ruling him out of action for a month.
Johnson’s second Premier League start against Chelsea on Monday also ended prematurely when he was sacrificed after Spurs were reduced to 10 men by defender Cristian Romero’s red card.
But Johnson has shown signs of promise in North London with a superb assist for Son Heung-min’s winner at Crystal Palace, while he also set up the Spurs skipper for a disallowed effort against Chelsea before his first-half withdrawal.
“Brennan’s at a big, big club now pushing for top four so the demands on him will be extreme,” said Page, who welcomed Johnson back into his squad after injury for this month’s decisive Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey.
“The squad of players he’s got around him now will be slightly different, but I’m not concerned at all. Even by training with the players he’s with will bring him to another level.
“We’ve all seen the potential. When I worked with him at the Under-21s and the younger age groups, I could see he was going to go (to the top).
“It’s taken him a little bit of time to get up to that standard, but he’s shown glimpses of it.
“What is important now is that he sustains that level by playing with those players and the demands of the manager there. He will absolutely do that.”
Johnson has only scored twice in 22 Wales appearances – against Belgium and the Netherlands in the Nations League – and that is a disappointing return for a player considered to be Gareth Bale’s natural successor in the Dragons’ forward line.
Page suggested that is down to the way Wales have previously been structured as a team but he insists, as evidenced by last month’s stunning 2-1 win over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, they are evolving as an attacking unit.
He said: “The majority of the games in the World Cup and Nations League A we were the underdogs and not going to have a lot of the ball.
“Our defensive structure has to be spot on if not you’re going to get found out, but as we evolve I’m asking more from the forward players and we saw that against Croatia.
“I brought Jack Lester in (as assistant coach), who’s one of the best forwards I played with and coaches I’ve seen. It was an area I wanted to improve and I’ve seen a difference already.”
Wales will avoid the play-offs in March and qualify automatically for next summer’s Euro 2024 finals in Germany if they beat Armenia in Yerevan on November 18 and Turkey in Cardiff three days later.
Page said: “I like Brennan as a nine purely because of his pace. He did that for us in Latvia (when Wales won 2-0 in September) and there’s not a defender out there who’s going to want to play against him and DJ (Daniel James) because pace frightens defenders.
“But I’m not going to pigeonhole him as a nine. He can play in any one of the front three positions easily.”
Nuno demands Premier League resolves PSR 'mess' as Forest await appeal verdict
Nuno Espirito Santo has called for the Premier League to provide clarity as Nottingham Forest wait on their appeal against a four-point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules, describing the situation as a "mess".
Forest were deducted four points in March after being found to have breached the competition's financial rules in the assessment period culminating in the end of the 2022-23 season.
Everton have also had a total of eight points deducted for two separate breaches, but with the Toffees pulling clear of the relegation zone, it is Forest who are looking over their shoulders.
Nuno's team sit just one point clear of 18th-placed Luton Town as they await the outcome of an appeal against their penalty, and he says the lack of clarity is affecting several clubs.
Asked whether he had received an update on Forest's appeal on Thursday, Nuno said: "Unfortunately we haven't heard yet.
"We are expecting to, but not yet. It is very difficult. We have been dealing with this situation for a while.
"We all expected the decision to come sooner, so we would know exactly how many points we have. Do we have 30, 29, 28, 27? We need it as fast as possible.
"To have 30 points would be fantastic, because this is the number of points that the boys achieved on the pitch.
"It is a mess. It should have been decided before. They have had enough time. It is very difficult for us but also for the rest of the league. It is very hard to be in this situation."
Forest visit already-relegated Sheffield United on Saturday, having taken just one point from four Premier League games since beating Fulham 3-1 in early April.
They could be in the relegation zone by the time that match kicks off, with Luton hosting Everton in a huge clash at Kenilworth Road on Friday.
France defender Hernandez to miss Euro 2024 after suffering ACL injury
Lucas Hernandez will miss France's Euro 2024 campaign after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during Paris Saint-Germain's 1-0 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
Dortmund will take a slender lead to the Parc des Princes for next week's semi-final second leg after Niclas Fullkrug's strike powered them past PSG in Wednesday's first leg in Germany.
Hernandez sustained a knee injury while chasing after Fullkrug in the build-up to the goal and was substituted after a brief attempt to play on.
On Thursday, PSG announced an MRI scan had revealed an ACL tear in his left knee, which will require surgery in the coming days.
Hernandez, who has 37 senior international caps, will now miss Euro 2024, with France set to open their Group D campaign against Austria in Dusseldorf on June 17.
Didier Deschamps' side then face the Netherlands in Leipzig four days later, before taking on Poland in Dortmund on June 25.
Hernandez was part of France's squad for the 2022 World Cup but sustained another ligament injury during Les Bleus' opening match against Australia, missing the rest of the tournament and not returning to club football until the start of 2023-24.
Tonali set for August return after receiving suspended two-month ban from FA
Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching gambling rules.
The sanction means the Newcastle United midfielder will be eligible to return to action on August 27, 2024, when his 10-month suspension issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) expires.
FIFA ratified that ban, causing it to become applicable worldwide, after Tonali admitted to placing bets on matches as part of an investigation into unregulated betting platforms in Italy.
In March, the FA charged Tonali with breaching English football's gambling rules 50 times between August and October last year, leading to fears his spell out of the game could be extended.
However, on Thursday it was confirmed that the FA had suspended Tonali's punishment for the duration of the 2024-25 season, meaning he can return in August if he does not reoffend.
In a statement, Newcastle said: "Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent regulatory commission after self-declaring breaches of FA betting rules.
"He has also been fined £20,000 and warned by the FA as to his future conduct.
"Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.
"As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission's written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully cooperating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented.
"Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club's full support and will continue to train with his team-mates."
Tonali's initial ban has limited him to just eight Premier League appearances since he joined Newcastle from Milan in a £55million deal, while he will also miss Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.
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