Johnson on how loan spell shaped his career

First-team

28 Jan 2026

Crystal Palace signed one of the Premier League's most prized assets earlier this month when bringing Wales international Brennan Johnson to Selhurst Park.

In the space of the last four years, Johnson has gone from a breakthrough star at former club Nottingham Forest, to becoming a key player for his country and winning major European silverware with Tottenham.

But it was a spell on loan in the EFL back in 2020/21 – a season played primarily behind closed doors during the pandemic – that would prove a definitive moment in Johnson's footballing journey.

Although he had graduated from the Forest Academy and made his senior debut as a substitute the previous season, the wide forward was lacking an exposure to hardened first-team football that so many young players need.

Johnson moved to Lincoln City on a season-long loan deal. It would prove a masterstroke.

"It massively changed my career and the way it was going," Johnson reflected. "I had an amazing time with Lincoln, I still can't thank them enough.

"At the time it can feel like a big move, but I think it's important to go out of your comfort zone. The comfort zone is a big thing in football and at that time I'd only been at Nottingham Forest.

"Nottingham was the only place I knew at that time, so it was a good thing for me. Even just going to work in a new environment, new training ground, it felt so different.

"I realised quickly, this football isn't about development anymore. They just want to win and you have to perform."

Johnson quickly hit the ground running, scoring his first goal in a 2-0 win over Plymouth just a month after his arrival. Even at that early stage there are shades of Johnson's game now in that goal.

A well-timed back post run allowing him to glance a header into the far corner. He would ultimately score 13 goals across all competitions this season, the highlight being an 11-minute hat-trick in a 4-0 demolition of MK Dons.

Quickly turning into a talisman, he also scored in the play-off semi-final win over Sunderland at the LNER Stadium again open to fans as lockdown restrictions eased.

That earned the Imps a place at Wembley in the final against Blackpool, with promotion to the Championship on the line.

Sadly Johnson's season wouldn't have a fairytale finish, as the Seasiders triumphed 2-1. But it was still an experience he would never forget.

"It was an amazing season, for me and the team," Johnson added. "The manager, Michael Appleton, was fantastic with me.

"He was so good with young players, giving us confidence, we had a really young squad but didn't fear anyone.

"I just got that experience of what it was to play real professional football and made over 50 appearances. We got to the play-off final and were unlucky not to win.

"For me personally, it couldn't have gone any better. I felt like I returned a whole different kind of player and had grown as a person.

"I had a different mentality when I returned to Forest and I think that's the reason I've been able to push on and take my game to the next level, because of that experience."

Loan Life

Plenty of current Palace players are currently plying their trade on loan building up that all-important experience of first-team football.

And last season, Owen Goodman, Danny Imray, Tayo Adaramola and Joe Whitworth all featured featured in the Palace TV series Loan Life, where our cameras gained an unprecedented insight into their time adapting to new clubs and developing in the Football League.

Watch every episode on Palace TV now!

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