Such is Brennan Johnson’s glittering form for Nottingham Forest, Austria would be foolish to fixate on the usual suspects when they take on Wales in their World Cup play-off semi-final. Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey are the obvious stars but in Johnson Wales possess another jewel. Last Sunday a familiar scene unfolded as Liverpool became the latest team to witness what the fuss is about, as the 20-year-old tormented Jürgen Klopp’s side with his searing pace, tenacity and eye for a killer pass during a testing FA Cup quarter-final.
Johnson shone earlier in the competition against Leicester and Arsenal, scoring against the former when he nutmegged the Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward from an acute angle. “He is so composed,” says Paul Bodin, who worked with Johnson when in charge of Wales’s Under‑19s and later with the Under‑21s. “He can pass it with good quality when he’s running. He just feeds the ball into good areas, with the perfect weight of pass … They were standout things years ago but they were not on the stage he is on now. I’m sure he will go on to do it for Wales for many years.”
