Brennan Johnson: Everton’s New Talisman Under David Moyes
Lee Trundle backs Brennan Johnson to become Everton’s new talisman under David Moyes – but warns the stage he is stepping onto will be unforgiving.
The Wales international has signed a four-year deal at Everton as part of a swap that sent Dwight McNeil to Crystal Palace, a move that has already split opinion on Merseyside. Trundle, though, is in no doubt. He sees a player built for this club, this manager, and this moment.
“That's a great signing and he's someone I'm excited about,” Trundle said on the BBC’s Feast of Football podcast, his enthusiasm cutting through. An Everton fan himself, he knows exactly what the Goodison crowd demands. And what it craves.
A manager who suits the player
Johnson arrives with a curious CV for a 25-year-old. He has played out wide, at wing-back, through the middle. He has helped Nottingham Forest climb out of the Championship under Steve Cooper. He has scored the winner in a Europa League final for Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester United. He has lifted the Conference League with Crystal Palace.
Now he lands at a club that has not tasted silverware for 31 years.
Trundle believes the key to unlocking Johnson lies in the man in the dugout.
“I think Moyes will get the best out of him, I think Moyes is a good manager for him,” he said. This is not flattery. It is a tactical prediction. Everton have long created chances without a ruthless edge; Moyes has built careers on turning willing runners into reliable finishers.
Trundle can see the fit clearly: “I think he'll go in, and once he starts scoring, I think the fans will take to him. I think he'll love being at a club like Everton because once you get in and score those goals, the fans will idolise you, especially because that's what they've been crying out for.”
The number nine question
The obvious issue is where Johnson plays.
Everton’s current first-choice forwards, Beto and Thierno Barry, have yet to convince they can carry the scoring burden week in, week out. The performances have been streaky, the finishing inconsistent. For Trundle, that opens a door.
He can see Johnson through the middle, not shunted wide or asked to simply graft out of possession, but trusted as the focal point.
“If you look at Everton, they create a lot of chances, they just don't take the chances,” he said. “I think if he's in those positions to get those chances, he takes more of them.”
It is a bold call, but one rooted in what Johnson already does well. He runs in behind. He stretches defences. He finishes. He also makes things for others.
“He will go in behind, he'll score goals himself and create himself as well,” Trundle added, sketching out a version of Everton with a sharper edge and a more varied threat.
No time for a gentle bedding-in
Not everyone is viewing the move through such a romantic lens.
Nathan Blake, another former Wales striker, respects Johnson’s talent but cuts straight to the reality of Everton’s environment. This is not a club where a big signing is allowed to drift through his first few months.
“Everton fans are demanding,” he said. “Whether you like it or not, it doesn't matter if you haven't won a trophy for a long time, that's a big club. I think there'll be more demand on him there.”
Johnson arrives from Palace, where he joined in a then club-record deal in January and quickly added another European trophy to his collection. That pedigree will only raise expectations at Hill Dickinson Stadium. The patience levels will not be generous.
Blake’s warning is stark: “Having Moyes and [assistant manager Billy] McKinlay could be a good thing, but if he doesn't produce in the first 10 to 15 games, it catches up with you.”
There is faith in the coaching staff – “The coaching and the experience of Moyes and his backroom staff, they'll coach him to improve,” Blake said – but there is also an understanding that Everton’s support judges on output, not potential.
Idol or interrogation?
So Johnson walks into a club caught between its history and its present, between long-term drought and short-term desperation.
He brings medals, versatility and a reputation for big-game impact. He also carries the weight of a fanbase that has “been crying out” for a goalscorer, as Trundle put it, and a clock that will start ticking from his first kick at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
If Moyes really can turn him into the ruthless number nine Everton have lacked, the stage is set for a new idol on Merseyside.
If not, those first 10 to 15 games will feel very long indeed.
