Lincoln City can have pride in Tottenham, Aston Villa exploits this season | OneFootball

Two former Lincoln City loanees are making waves in the Premier League, and beyond, providing a real source of pride for the Imps.

Two former Lincoln City loanees are making waves in the Premier League, and beyond, providing a real source of pride for the Imps.

Brennan Johnson, now at Tottenham Hotspur, and Morgan Rogers, currently playing for Aston Villa, both lined up for Lincoln in the 2020/21 season.

They helped the then-Michael Appleton-managed side reach the League One play-off final, before losing out to Blackpool at the showpiece game.

Brennan Johnson now a Tottenham Hotspur livewire

The Welshman scored ten times at Lincoln in League One, adding three more goals in cups and play-off outings, as well as six assists in all.

On loan from Nottingham Forest, who he went on to excel for in the Championship the following season, Johnson was electric for the Imps.

Now in the Premier League, he has been a real attacking threat for an otherwise struggling Spurs team.

Under Australian Ange Postecoglou, Johnson has netted 14 times and assisted four further goals across all competitions. Playing in every role across the Tottenham front three, the former Forest attacker has gone to new heights.

Spurs may be far behind where they want to be in the English top flight, but in Europe they have seen success. The North London side are into the quarter-finals of the Europa League and continue to be one of the favourites to lift the trophy in Bilbao this May.

Johnson was the source of much criticism from his own fans earlier in the campaign, but managed to net three in as many Premier League games towards the end of September. He proved doubters wrong, showing a steeliness to battle back and fight to regain the support of the Spurs faithful.

The 23-year-old has been a force on the international front too with Wales, adding a goal and an assist back in November against Iceland. His successes for Spurs this term have made him one of Wales' top talents, and a vital part of Craig Bellamy's team.

Aston Villa fighting on three fronts with Morgan Rogers

Simultaneously, Rogers has been a source of great joy at Aston Villa.

He has been an ever-present, playing 90% of Villa’s Premier League minutes and has provided 14 goal involvements along the way.

The Unai Emery-managed outfit are still battling on three fronts. As well as looking to secure European football for next season, Villa remain in the latter stages of the Champions League and have progressed into the semi-finals of the FA Cup after beating Preston North End in the quarter-finals.

Villa have been hugely impressive in the Champions League, progressing into the knockout stages through difficult ties on their return to Europe's top stage.

And, due to Rogers being impressive on the domestic and continental front, he has broken into the England squad under new manager Thomas Tuchel.

Former Lincoln loanee Rogers already has 23 goals and assists in just over 40 appearances for the Midlands side in total this season, and has been pivotal in their overachievement on the European stage.

It is the 22-year-old’s second season at Villa Park, after spells at Middlesbrough, AFC Bournemouth and Blackpool in prior years. And, it is a chance for silverware.

The majority of English football's heaviest-hitters have been eliminated from the FA Cup, leaving Villa and Rogers with a clear opportunity to claim a trophy.

Rogers was on loan at Lincoln in 2020/21 from Manchester City, alongside his aforementioned Welsh counterpart, scoring six times across his 25 third tier appearances.

Not without Lincoln City loans

Neither Johnson or Rogers would be at the top of the English game if not for their spells at Lincoln. The Imps have been known for their ability to develop young talent, with current Huddersfield Town striker Joe Taylor a more recent example from last term.

Lincoln have that in their favour, holding the tag of being a safe and trustworthy landing spot for top-level clubs to send their hottest prospects. The two examples of Johnson and Rogers have helped take that impression to the next level, providing evidence to the argument that if you want to see one of your young talents improved, you should send them to the Imps.

Both Johnson and Rogers were key players in City’s charge to the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, proving what a good loan player, or in this case two, can do to a team.

The then-Forest prospect was a consistent goalscoring and attacking outlet for Lincoln during the 2020/21 season, while he struck up a strong partnership with yellow youngster Rogers too.

They helped elevate Lincoln then, and they are now helping to elevate one team looking for Europa League glory and other fighting on three different fronts.