Ange Postecoglou feels there is more to come from in-form Tottenham attacker Brennan Johnson.
Wales international Johnson scored in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham to make it five goal involvements in his last five Premier League matches.
After a slow start to life at Spurs following his £47.5million move from Nottingham Forest in September, the 22-year-old is beginning to hit top form now and faces his old club on Sunday.
Postecoglou has been impressed with how Johnson has handled his big-money move, especially in the wake of Harry Kane’s departure weeks before his arrival and amid recent discourse over the part his transfer played in Forest’s points deduction for breaching league profit and sustainability rules.
“We had a minimum of 30 goals walk out the building,” Postecoglou said.
“People are going to be looking at how we’re going to replace that and it can weigh heavily on a young guy’s shoulders.
“Not that we can expect Brennan to replace Harry, but we needed goals and assists and I like the way he’s handled it.
“We’ve tried to tread carefully with him because I can see the potential in him. I can see how much he can improve and the attributes he has, I’ve got no doubt will fit really well with this team, but I’m not going to put a ceiling on it because that would be unfair on him.
“We like the way he’s progressing but we certainly believe there is more to come, for sure.
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“I think now he’s found a bit of confidence, consistency and understanding of how we play, he’s getting the rewards, which is great.
“But he’s still a young guy and we bought him with very much an eye that whatever he does this year, there’s definitely a lot more in him.
“And when you see improvement that encourages us even more because it makes you think that if we invest the time in him even more, he’s going to be a super player for us.”
Johnson’s midweek effort was not enough to fire Tottenham to victory at West Ham, with the hosts able to claim a point after Kurt Zouma scored from a corner.
Spurs have conceded 10 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season, but Postecoglou rejected suggestions it has become an Achilles’ heel for his team.
He added: “I think we’ve been pretty good at set-pieces.
“Every goal you concede is down to something. It was a decent delivery the other night, they’ve got some big guys and the rest of the set-pieces I thought we handled quite well.
“We gave away too many corners. That was an issue for us. When you do it against a team like West Ham, who are such a big team physically. They’ve got such great deliveries with (Jarrod) Bowen and (James) Ward-Prowse — you’re asking for trouble.
“I thought that was part of the game we could have handled a bit better, not to give away so many, but I think those kind of things people just kind of look at in snapshots.
“Our winning goal against Luton came from a defensive corner. With all these things, I tend to take a longer-term view on them and for the most part I think we’ve been pretty decent.”
Spurs will be without Richarlison (knee) for this weekend’s visit of Forest.
Venezuela 1-1 Argentina: Rondon equaliser thwarts world champions on Messi return
Argentina dropped points in a second successive CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier, as Venezuela held them to a 1-1 draw in Maturin.
The spoils were shared at Estadio Monumental de Maturin, where Salomon Rondon's second-half header cancelled out Nicolas Otamendi's earlier effort.
After heavy rain delayed kick-off, Argentina took the lead in the 13th minute.
Venezuela goalkeeper Rafael Romo failed to properly clear the returning Lionel Messi's free-kick, and Otamendi reacted quickest to poke home from 12 yards out.
The hosts went close to levelling either side of the break. German Pezzella cleared off the line from Rondon, while Geronimo Rulli - deputising for the suspended Emiliano Martinez - kept out Yangel Herrera's powerful header.
However, Venezuela did grab their equaliser in the 65th minute - and subsequently a point - when Rondon rose at the near post to power home from Yeferson Soteldo's cross.
Messi returned to the international scene for the first time since limping off in tears during the Copa America final.
But the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner could not help Argentina get back to winning ways, while he conceded possession the joint-most times (19) by any visiting player.
The conditions certainly affected the flow of the game, and was more to the suiting of Venezuela. Although they had just 40.1% of possession, the hosts outshot their opponents 16-8.
However, they have now failed to win their last five CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers; their longest streak since going six without victory between June and October 2021.
Israel 1-4 France: Rampant Bleus clinch back-to-back Nations League wins
France made it back-to-back wins in the Nations League, with Christopher Nkunku and Bradley Barcola among the scorers as they thrashed Israel 4-1 in Hungary.
Playing at a neutral venue in Budapest's Bozsik Arena, France flew out of the traps as Israel goalkeeper Omri Glazer let Eduardo Camavinga's strike squirm past him in the sixth minute.
Israel did draw level midway through the first half as Omri Gandelman headed Oscar Gloukh's cross home, but they were on terms for less than five minutes as Chelsea forward Nkunku flicked the ball through Ilay Feingold's legs before slotting a low finish into the far corner.
Randal Kolo Muani twice went close to extending France's lead before Matteo Guendouzi gave them breathing space in the 87th minute, rolling a finish beyond Glazer and into the bottom corner.
Didier Deschamps' men added further gloss to the scoreline two minutes later, Guendouzi finding a similar position, but this time opting to pick out Barcola for a curled finish.
The result sees France move onto six points in Group A2, one adrift of Italy – who beat them on matchday one. They face Belgium next time out on Monday.
Data Debrief: New-look Bleus sparkle
With Kylian Mbappe absent due to a niggling injury and Antoine Griezmann retiring from international football, Deschamps fielded a new-look frontline of Nkunku, Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise.
Recording 33 touches in the area to Israel's five, and 15 shots to their opponents' one, France certainly impressed.
Kolo Muani was a particular bright spark despite not getting on the scoresheet, with his four chances created being at least twice as many as any other player (Theo Hernandez laid on two).
Haaland becomes Norway's record scorer with Slovenia brace
Erling Haaland became Norway's all-time leading scorer with a brace in their 3-0 victory over Slovenia.
The Manchester City striker was captaining his first nation for the first time, and marked the occasion in trademark record-breaking fashion.
Haaland broke the deadlock after just seven minutes of the Nations League clash at the Ullevaal Stadium, where Alexander Sorloth doubled the lead seven minutes after the restart.
Sorloth then turned provider just after the hour mark for Haaland, who broke Jorgen Juve's 87-year record with his 34th international goal in just 36 caps.
The result put Norway firmly in charge of Group B3 with seven points, three ahead of Austria and Slovenia, with Kazakhstan propping up the table on one point.
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