Brennan Johnson reflects on a difficult Palace move before the Conference League final

Brennan Johnson has admitted his January move to Crystal Palace has been harder than he expected. The winger joined for a then club-record £35million from Tottenham, and he said he had barely had time to process it before being thrown into action.

How the January move hit so quickly

"It is something that I haven't had the time to reflect on, to be honest, just because of how it works in January," Johnson told standard.co.uk. "I literally signed, and two days later, I was up in Newcastle playing. It happened so fast."

He expanded on the adjustment in the same interview, saying: "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." He added that the Crystal Palace boys, staff and fans have made him feel welcome.

The move has not quite clicked in the league yet. Johnson has made 18 Premier League appearances for Palace this season and has 0 goals, while he also started five successive league games between January and February. Oliver Glasner has still given him a run of minutes, but the output has not followed.

Why Wednesday still matters for him

Johnson's chance to change the tone comes on Wednesday, when Palace face Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final in Leipzig. He has already played 7 times in the competition for Palace, and his 6.87 average rating in Europe is higher than his 6.56 Premier League rating.

That gap is not a guarantee of anything, but it does back up the feeling that he has looked more comfortable on European nights than in the league. Johnson said the final means a lot to him because he is "in a fortunate position" being able to play in another European final, and he thanked the club for making him feel at home.

He is also open about wanting another big night. Last year, he scored the winner in the Europa League final for Tottenham in Bilbao, and he has a Europa League trophy tattoo on his right leg. He wants his first Palace goal to come in the club's first major European final, which is the kind of detail that tells you he is not treating this like a throwaway occasion.

If Palace win, the mid-season move will look a lot cleaner. If they do not, Johnson still leaves Leipzig with a simple task ahead of him, finding his first Palace goal and settling into a club-record signing that has taken longer than anyone expected.