Brennan Johnson undergoing medical after picking new club as Tottenham set to land £33.5m windfall

Towards the end of December, reports emerged detailing Palace's interest in Johnson, with the FA Cup holders intent on bolstering Oliver Glasner's thin squad. Palace's roster is light in general, but the loss of Ismaila Sarr to Africa Cup of Nations duty has made bringing in another forward with goal threat of grave importance. The Eagles opened talks with Tottenham and agreed on a £33.5m fee, though other Premier League clubs such as Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Everton were also tipped to make bids of their own.

With several teams looking into the signing of Johnson, BBC Sport reported on Thursday that the Wales international decided to join Palace after holding talks with head coach Glasner, as well as other members of the club's hierarchy. As first reported by Fabrizio Romano, Johnson is now undergoing a medical.

Glasner's own contract at Selhurst Park expires at the end of the season and it has been claimed he may leave the club in the summer. The Austrian, the first manager in Palace's history to lead them into European competition, has been linked with Chelsea following Enzo Maresca's sacking on New Year's Day.

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Johnson joined Tottenham on deadline day of the summer 2023 transfer window for £50m ($67m) from boyhood club Nottingham Forest. He was a favourite under then-Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou, scoring five goals and laying on 11 assists in 34 appearances during his first season.

Tottenham began 2024-25 slowly and Johnson was targeted with abuse on social media, but he completed a remarkable redemption arc. The forward registered 18 goals and seven assists across all competitions, none more important than the winner against Manchester United in last May's Europa League final.

Thomas Frank, who tried to sign Johnson when head coach of Brentford, succeeded Postecoglou at Spurs for the 2025-26 season, but the 24-year-old has dropped down the pecking order. He has started only six Premier League matches this term and hasn't scored in the league since August.

Despite reports of Johnson nearing an exit, Frank has repeatedly downplayed the prospect of selling Johnson. At a press conference on Tuesday, Frank said: "There's rumours out there, in general I'll not comment on that, no matter if we want to sign or sell a player, or get a staff member in or out. I've no interest in commenting either way.

"As I said, Brennan is a very important player for us. Sometimes things change if another player comes in. Unfortunately, [Mohammed] Kudus came in for him and played on the right side and has done well. So it's been a little bit more tricky to get enough starts. He started the season also quite well from the left.

"I think Brennan has a lot of attributes. Very good running in behind, very good scoring goals. That's a good quality. So some of those key things is fantastic. Also working hard for the team, but you need more than just 11 players. That's the way it is. I think Brennan has been a top professional, is a top professional, trained well today. He's ready for two days' time."

If all the necessary paperwork is filed to the Premier League in time, Johnson could make his Palace debut on Sunday when his prospective new side travel to Newcastle. He is expected to be presented to the Selhurst Park crowd for the first time next Wednesday when they host Aston Villa, while an FA Cup tie away to non-league side Macclesfield is up after that.