Brennan Johnson: Everton's New Forward and Fan Favorite

Lee Trundle has no doubts. In his eyes, Everton have not just picked up a useful forward in Brennan Johnson – they’ve landed a player tailor-made for David Moyes and a fanbase desperate for a new hero.

Johnson has arrived on Merseyside from Crystal Palace on a four-year deal, part of a swap that sent Dwight McNeil to Selhurst Park. It’s a bold reshaping of Everton’s attack, and it has caught the imagination of Trundle, the former Wrexham, Swansea City, Bristol City and Leeds United striker – and a lifelong Evertonian.

“With Johnson coming in, I think that's a great signing and he's someone I'm excited about,” Trundle said on the BBC’s Feast of Football podcast. For him, the fit is obvious: “I think Moyes will get the best out of him, I think Moyes is a good manager for him.”

A fanbase crying out for a finisher

Everton’s problem has been painfully clear for some time. They create. They don’t finish. Beto and Thierno Barry have flickered, but not often enough, and rarely with the kind of ruthless edge that turns tight games.

“If you look at Everton, they create a lot of chances, they just don't take the chances,” Trundle said. That, in his mind, is where Johnson walks straight into the picture.

The Wales international has played almost everywhere across the front line: out wide, as a wing-back, through the middle. Versatility has been his calling card, but Trundle sees a different job for him at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

He believes Moyes could trust Johnson as a number nine, right at the sharp end, ahead of the inconsistent current duo. Put simply: get him into the right areas and let him finish.

“I think if he's in those positions to get those chances, he takes more of them,” Trundle argued. “He will go in behind, he'll score goals himself and create himself as well.”

That blend – willing runner, direct threat, and creator – is exactly what Everton fans have been “crying out for,” as Trundle put it. And he’s convinced Goodison’s new surroundings will suit Johnson’s personality as much as his game.

“I think he'll go in, and once he starts scoring, I think the fans will take to him,” he said. “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.”

Proven on big stages, but pressure to deliver

Johnson’s CV already carries weight. He helped Nottingham Forest climb out of the Championship under Steve Cooper in 2021-22, a promotion run that showcased his energy and eye for goal. At Tottenham Hotspur, he went a step further, winning the Europa League and scoring the winner in the final against Manchester United. Last season, he lifted the Conference League with Crystal Palace.

Those are not the honours of a player still learning how to handle the spotlight. He has seen big nights, big crowds, big pressure.

Yet Everton is different. The club’s 31-year trophy drought hangs over every new signing, every false dawn. The expectation never really dims, and Nathan Blake, the former Wales striker, believes Johnson will feel that weight immediately.

“Everton fans are demanding,” Blake 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.”

Blake’s warning is blunt: Johnson cannot afford a slow start.

He joined Palace in a then club-record deal in January and adapted quickly enough to end the season with European silverware. At Everton, the margin for patience is thinner.

“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,” Blake said.

That’s the reality of Hill Dickinson Stadium. The crowd will roar for him if he runs, presses, and scores. They will also turn if the goals don’t come.

Moyes’ project, Johnson’s moment

For Moyes, Johnson is more than a squad option. He is a test of whether Everton can finally turn chances into something more tangible than frustration. The manager’s reputation for structure, discipline and player development is well established, and Blake believes that could be decisive.

“The coaching and the experience of Moyes and his backroom staff, they'll coach him to improve,” he said.

Trundle sees the same thing from a different angle: a player with the tools, a manager who knows how to sharpen them, and a club that will elevate anyone willing to shoulder the responsibility.

Johnson arrives as a Europa League winner, a promotion winner, a Conference League winner. Now he walks into a club that hasn’t lifted a trophy in over three decades, asked to lead a misfiring attack and win over one of English football’s most demanding crowds.

If he does what Trundle expects – runs in behind, takes his chances, feeds off the noise – Everton might finally have the number nine they’ve been waiting for.

If he doesn’t, those first 10 to 15 games Blake talks about will feel very long indeed.