Home » ARTICLES » Mauricio Pochettino Says This £17 Million Target Man Played Too Much Too Soon

Mauricio Pochettino Says This £17 Million Target Man Played Too Much Too Soon

Help the blog by Following us on Twitter and Google News

Vincent Janssen has been one of the biggest disappointments for Tottenham this season. After arriving for £17 million from Ajax in the summer, he has struggled big time. Janssen is yet to score from open play this season as all of his three goals have come from the penalty spot. Only one of those goals was in the Premier League, as he has proven to be nowhere near enough player to replace Harry Kane in the first team should the star striker get injured.

Vincent Janssen
Vincent Janssen

Mauricio Pochettino has tried to defend his summer signing by claiming that Janssen got his first team opportunities too soon. He says that Janssen was never expected to get as many first-team opportunities as he did in the first half of the season, as the club were prepared to give him extended time to settle to life in England. However, the injury to Harry Kane has proven to be a major problem with the England international going on to miss up to 8 matches due to an injury. Pochettino said:

“Maybe we expected him not to play too much. When Harry was injured, Janssen was our main striker and played a lot. He is another young player who has come from a different country, a different league, and he needs to adapt his qualities to a new team and a new league.

“Maybe his run in the team came too early. But it is part of the process. We need to help because he is a kid, still very young.”

The struggles in front of goal continue for the former Feyenoord player, as he is yet to score in 23 games. The 22-year-old has already been ruled out as a flop so much so that Spurs have been linked with a couple of forwards signings in this January transfer window. Former Manchester United forward Javier Hernandez has emerged as one of the unlikely signings with the 28-year-old managing to make a big impression in the German Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. However, Spurs appear to have been priced out of the Mexican forward with their enquiry in recent weeks showing that Leverkusen value the player in excess of £ 20 million.

If a replacement for Janssen does arrive, the Dutch international could very well be heading out on loan in order to revive his career. His inability to find the back of the net at Tottenham is not surprising given that several of the top strikers have also gone through a similar problem at the club. Roberto Soldado is one of the prime examples that would spring to the mind immediately. Despite being a regular goalscorer in Spain, the Spanish striker struggled at White Hart Lane and he is now playing for Villarreal after two disappointing seasons in Spain.

It is also highly likely that Spurs will provide Janssen with the opportunity to adapt to life in the Premier League, which is arguably one of the toughest leagues in the world, partly because they have invested a lot of money in the player. Janssen’s last 90 minutes of action was back towards the end of October against Leicester City – a game in which he also scored from the penalty spot.

Leave a Comment

Subscribe and bring the lane to your mail!

* indicates required

Intuit Mailchimp