Johnson says Palace squad feel as good as they ever have despite changes at the club | OneFootball

Brennan Johnson insists that the changes at Crystal Palace over the course of this season are a “distant memory” as they look to win their first ever European trophy.

Since the start of the 2025/26 season the south London side have lost Eberechi Eze, their captain Marc Guehi and Oliver Glasner has announced he will be stepping down as manager at the end of the season.

Despite all this change, Palace have comfortably stayed in the Premier League and are now in the UEFA Conference League final with only Spanish side Rayo Vallecano standing in their way from lifting another piece of silverware.

“Probably, looking back the change affected us a little bit,” he said. “If I’m honest, it probably wasn’t something that I expected to happen within the first couple of weeks of being at the club.

“But I just think the people around the club, the players put you at ease, make you feel a bit more confident about what’s happening.

“The longer it went on, the more games we played, especially in the Conference League, the buzz comes back and then it feels like that was a distant memory because now we’re a team that’s feeling as good as we ever have. We want to do everything we can to bring success.”

Last season Johnson won the Europa League with Tottenham, scoring the winning goal in the final. He was Spurs’ top scorer that year playing a pivotal role in securing the north Londoner’s first trophy in 17 years. He was asked if he has thought about replicating that feat this year.

“Yeah, I think it kind of creeps in sometimes naturally,” he answered. “But then I just think about the opportunity we have and still how much we have to do to be able to get to that point.”

“So, yeah, it’s something that definitely I want to replicate. But of course, I know we have a massive job to do and hopefully as a team we can do it together.”

Despite being Spurs’ top goalscorer last year, Johnson left Spurs in January after a mixed start to the season under their new manager Thomas Frank. After admitting to struggling in the early stages of his move to the Eagles, the 25-year-old thanked this teammates for helping him settle at the club.

“Yeah, it’s something that I haven’t had the time to reflect on, to be honest, just because of how it works in January,” he explained. “I literally signed and two days later, I was up in Newcastle playing. It happened so fast.

“It was a new experience for me, changing teams mid-season. I’ll be honest, it was one that I probably struggled with a little bit at the time. It was all new, even though it was only in London. But it’s a new changing room, a new team, a new club.

“It was one that I didn’t really have too much time to reflect. But what I can say is the boys and the staff and the fans here have made me feel welcome. I owe a lot of thanks to them for making me feel at home here.”