Motherwell prediction over when 'best version' of Tawanda Maswanhise will emerge after transfer window closure

The Zimbabwean international was strongly linked with moves away from the club he joined in 2024 after time at Leicester City across both winter and summer windows this year. Instead, he will remain at Fir Park until at least January 2027, nominated for PFA Scotland Player of the Year last season after 22 goals across all competitions.

He’s netted twice with two assists from 11 matches so far this term after pre-season was heavily disrupted by a jaw injury. That forced him to start the season with a protective mask, and with his fitness still being built up, Johansson expects his versatile forward to be firing on all cylinders soon.

How is Tawanda Maswanhise performing at Motherwell?

"I'm super happy with JT being here,” said the Motherwell manager. “I think he's had a different summer from some of the other guys. He missed a big part of the pre-season, so he's in a moment of time now where he's in a pre-season, but he has to play, he has to play, he has to play.

“I think we see him growing slowly from week to week, and I'm pleased with him getting two assists for the team against Dundee United. I think we will see the best version of him at some point, and we know how good he can be. Just check his performances last year, and then I think we have the answer of his qualities.”

Key players Lukas Fadinger and Emmanuel Longelo were also retained by Motherwell in a transfer window that brought the departures of stars from last term like Elijah Just, Elliot Watt, Calum Ward, Callum Slattery and Stephen Welsh. Johansson replaced Jens Berthel Askou, who guided the club to a fourth placed finish, and the Steelmen are now on an extended period of rest following their exit from the Premier Sports Cup against Stenhousemuir last month.

The Swede is happy with how his squad is shaping up after the summer and believes downtime will benefit the team after juggling domestic duties with Conference League qualifiers that ended at the play-off stage against Bundesliga club Freiburg. 10 days will have passed between last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Rangers and their home clash with Aberdeen on September 15.

Where do Motherwell need to improve?

"Super happy,” he added on his squad. “Obviously, there are some windows still open, so we'll see if something more is going to happen. But I'm so happy with the squad. I think the group of players we have is, from a football perspective, on a really high level. And I think we'll be able to develop this group even more.

“And also, I think it's such a good group of people, so I'm really pleased with that. When you're in these congested periods, then it's always positive when you get to breathe a little bit. It's not me necessarily standing and telling them where they have to run and so on, but it's more to they need more repetitions in certain situations, where they can build relationships more strongly.

“And where they can trial and error together in a situation. I think that's what they will be thriving off if we can have some time on this. We provide a couple of days off after Rangers and then back in for Wednesday. Then we have a sort of a normal training week leading up to Aberdeen."

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