Nottingham Forest attacker Brennan Johnson will take on Gareth Bale's role for Wales after the Fifa Men's World Cup as the national team prepares for a "changing of the guard".
The 21-year-old did not start for the Dragons in their three group games as they crashed out of the tournament in Qatar with just one point. He came off the bench in each match, totalling 91 minutes of action.
Johnson will now return to domestic football with the Reds, with whom he has been nominated for the Fans' Footballer of the Year award along with three of his clubmates. NottinghamshireLive's Matt Davies picked the final shortlist, which was scrutinised by Michael Temple on the Garibaldi Red podcast.
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Winning the gong, which is in its third year of existence, would offer a small consolation for Johnson after his international disappointment, but Temple believes he is about to take over Bale's mantle as Wales' talisman after replacing the former Real Madrid star at halftime of the 3-0 defeat to England. He says that Forest will reap the benefits of this development as he continues to improve.
"It was perhaps a bit of a signal that he replaced Gareth Bale in [the England] game, who was really poor and looked a shadow of himself," Temple said.
"In deciding to make a change it was Brennan that was injected and he did what he does. He was busy, he tried to use his pace, he tried to get in behind.
"So I think he's come out of the squad as a starting player for Wales going forward into their next campaign having gone into the World Cup struggling for a place in their first XI. I think we'll see a changing of the guard.
"He will only benefit from being in and amongst international football. Look, it's tempered by the fact that he's still a very, very young player with significant potential.
"I read an interesting piece in which he was held up as the most valuable player in the Wales squad transferwise. That's partly down to what he's achieved so far and partly towards the potential for what he can achieve in the future.
"Brennan will only get better from this point, he will be an international regular, I can see Gareth Bale retiring from international football soon, and Forest have got a very valuable asset on their hands who is going to grow into that role more and more."
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