Tottenham captain Son Heung-min has backed the floodgates to open soon for team-mate Brennan Johnson after his latest crucial cameo.
Johnson’s 63rd-minute introduction helped Spurs fight back from a goal down to beat Crystal Palace 3-1 on Saturday and get their Champions League qualification hopes back on track.
It was a similar story against Brentford and Brighton earlier this year with the Welsh international beginning to flourish after his £47.5million move from Nottingham Forest in September.
Johnson scored once and laid on two assists during his first 11 appearances for the club, but his two assists against Palace mean he has six goal involvements in his last 11 outings for Ange Postecoglou’s team.
It was Johnson’s tenacity which made the leveller after he won back possession from Joachim Andersen before he got the better of Jefferson Lerma to tee up Timo Werner and he later set up Son for Spurs’ third goal.
“Strong man,” Tottenham captain Son told Spurs Play.
“That is what we need, especially the way we play. We want to play high, high intensity and who is coming from the bench has to make an impact. Brennan did and he did two amazing assists.
“I like this guy. I love this guy. I just want to help him as much as I can.
“Even when we start the game, I tell him, ‘just make sure you’re ready, you’ll make the difference. When you come on, you’ll make the difference,’ and that’s what we need.
“Brennan did a fantastic job and I just want to give him a big hug.
“The goals obviously he is missing but I am definitely sure, the way he works, working like this, the goals will come automatically, I am 100 per cent sure.”
Postecoglou echoed Son’s sentiments on Johnson, he said: “I thought Brennan was good, but I thought all of them were good.
“In those moments we work hard with our wide players to make sure they’re in the right areas and a couple of times we just weren’t when the ball was flashed across.
“Brennan did fantastically well to win back possession and when he’s played it across, it’s the other winger that’s there. From our perspective that’s a really important part because it’s not by accident.”
A slight worry for Spurs was substitute Pape Sarr seemingly in pain at full-time, but Postecoglou played down concerns.
He added: “Pape’s had a bit of a back issue since he got back from the Africa Cup of Nations. He’s been dealing with it and it’s getting better but it’s not sort of totally free, so it’s something we’re working on with him.”
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A positive for Palace was Eberechi Eze’s goalscoring return after a hamstring injury and new boss Oliver Glasner preached patience after he brought him off in the 65th-minute.
“You have to take care. We cannot afford to lose him for more weeks again, so this was the reason,” Glasner revealed.
“I think the whole of England knows Ebs is a great player and he can decide games, but also we could see he does not have the rhythm because for these 65 minutes it was not maybe his highest level.
“It is normal because he came back from an injury.
“Now we work also with him that he will be able to play 95, 100 minutes on the highest level.”
Tullis-Joyce ready to take Man Utd mantle after Earps departure
Phallon Tullis-Joyce believes learning from Mary Earps during her time at Manchester United has her well-placed to step up as the Red Devils' new number one.
Earps, who spent five seasons with United, joined Paris Saint-Germain in July upon the expiry of her contract at the Women's Super League side.
During her time with the Red Devils, she made 102 appearances in all competitions, keeping 46 clean sheets in the WSL in that time.
The 31-year-old scooped the Golden Glove in the 2022-23 campaign, while also helping United lift the Women's FA Cup in her final season with the club.
Tullis-Joyce spent just one year alongside Earps after arriving from the Seattle Reign last year, with all four of her appearances coming in the League Cup.
But speaking at the Barclays WSL's 2024-25 season launch media day, the American told Stats Perform her time with Earps has her well-prepared for this season.
"I was fortunate enough to train with Mary for an entire season, learn from her, learn from the staff as well," Tullis-Joyce said.
"Four of us together just being able to hold a high standard has already helped me in that preparation for this season."
Head coach Marc Skinner is backing Tullis-Joyce to fill the seismic gap left by Earps, a statement that filled the American with confidence.
"Yeah, definitely very, very grateful to our staff," Tullis-Joyce started.
"I mean, right from the start, when I got there, they were very clear about their intentions and where I was at and where they wanted to see me progress to.
"I'm just super happy to be with the squad."
United are looking to improve on an underwhelming campaign last year, finishing fifth and 15 points adrift of the Champions League qualification places.
Only Manchester City (15), Chelsea (18), Arsenal (20) and Liverpool (28) conceded less than United's 32 goals in the league, but their inconsistent results proved costly.
Tullis-Joyce acknowledged their showing last term fell below the mark, but highlighted the Red Devils' FA Cup success as a solid foundation to build on this season.
"We're taking this step by step," Tullis-Joyce said.
"These players have been grinding it out during this pre-season.
"We're pushing our limits, and we obviously have our sights set on the absolute best that we can perform as a squad and that's where we're at for the season."
Howe says Newcastle yet to hit 'top gear' ahead of Wolves trip
Eddie Howe believes Newcastle are yet to hit "top gear" this season despite taking seven points from their first three Premier League games, as they look to continue that strong start against Wolves at Molineux.
Newcastle made light of Fabian Schar's red card to beat Southampton on the opening matchday, then downed Tottenham 2-1 after earning a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.
Those results have the Magpies fifth in the early-season standings, yet Howe still sees room for improvement as far as their performance levels are concerned.
Newcastle have faced a Premier League-high 54 shots in 2024-25, with their average of 18 shots conceded per game their highest on record in a single campaign (since 2003-04).
At Friday's pre-match press conference, Howe said: "We've had some very good results, we're really pleased with the start we have made in what is a difficult league.
"Performance-wise, we haven't hit top gear. We are going into a spell where we have difficult games away from home.
"It's been a very tough start for Wolves. They played very well in their last game against Nottingham Forest.
"They're always tough opponents, I've got lot of respect for Gary O'Neil and the job he has done there. He is very tactically astute so we will be prepared for a tough game."
Wolves, meanwhile, needed three games to pick up their first point of the season in a 1-1 draw with Forest, having opened with defeats to Arsenal (2-0) and Chelsea (6-2).
Boss O'Neil expects a difficult test against a team with plenty of attacking talent, hailing Magpies forward Alexander Isak as one of the best in the league.
"They have an abundance of quality attacking players. Isak is one of the best number nines in the league for me, so they are a team that are going to test us, definitely," O'Neil said.
"I'm looking forward to getting back to Molineux, getting back to the group that we know we're going to work with from now until January, at least, and seeing if we can start to upset a few people like we like we managed to last season."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wolves – Andre
Wolves harbour a doubt over captain Mario Lemina ahead of Sunday's game, which could mean Andre is called upon for his full debut after joining from Fluminense.
Between his Serie A debut in September 2020 and his departure, Andre ranked first for possession won (756) and successful passes (6,574) in the Brazilian top flight, as well as second for touches (8,440) and fourth for dribbles completed (164).
Newcastle – Alexander Isak
Isak has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 20 Premier League appearances (15 goals, three assists).
Since the first game in that run (on Boxing Day last year), only Erling Haaland (20) and Cole Palmer (17) have scored more than the Swede (15) in the competition.
MATCH PREDICTION – NEWCASTLE WIN
Entertainment should be a given at Molineux, where both teams have scored in all nine previous Premier League meetings between Wolves and Newcastle.
It is the most-played specific fixture in the competition's history to never feature a clean sheet, while Newcastle have only failed to score once in their last 23 Premier League matches – in a 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in April.
No Premier League team is on a longer current run without a shutout than Wolves, meanwhile, with O'Neil's men conceding in each of their last 15 matches.
Wolves have only won one of their last 13 league games, drawing three and losing nine, and are winless in their last six (one draw, five losses). At home, they have lost five of their last six (one win), having only lost four of their previous 19 (11 wins, four draws).
Newcastle have won three of their last five Premier League games against Wolves, drawing the other two, and they enter Sunday's match as favourites.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Wolves – 30.3%
Newcastle – 44.5%
Draw – 25.1%
Hard work Conte's only requirement at Napoli
After an eventful first 100 days in charge of Napoli, Antonio Conte says hard work is his first requirement ahead of the Partenopei's trip to Cagliari on Sunday.
Conte endured a difficult start to his Napoli career, overseeing a heavy 3-0 defeat to Verona on the opening matchday of the Serie A season.
However, victories over Bologna (3-0) and Parma (2-1) have Napoli looking up, and they could now win three straight league games under a single head coach for the first time since February 2023 – when they went on to win the Scudetto under Luciano Spalletti (eight in a row).
At the end of a tumultuous period that also saw Victor Osimhen leave for Galatasaray on loan and Romelu Lukaku join as his replacement, Conte feels the foundations have been laid for future success.
Speaking at Friday's pre-match press conference, Conte said: "We worked not only on the pitch, but also a lot off it. We had to work and we worked hard.
"I am satisfied, these 100 days have given us a direction. I know what awaits me, the expectations on me, but my only weapon is work."
Having won league titles at Juventus, Inter and Chelsea, Conte knows expectations around the Partenopei have been heightened by his arrival.
"I carry a lot of pressure with me. Having won in the past, people add one and one and get two, and expect this regardless," Conte said.
"It's a responsibility, I don't shirk from it, but I live it in a serene way. I expect continuity of performance and results, and continuity from the squad."
Conte also hailed the impact of Lukaku, who came off the bench to score a late goal in their victory over Parma ahead of the international break, just two days after his arrival.
"He used the international break to try to get in full swing on a physical and tactical level. There was great commitment, he also came in during his free time," he said of the striker.
"He is improving in everything and we will see, there are still two training sessions and then I will decide if he will start."
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