If there’s one Spurs player who is finding it extremely hard to prove his worth this season, it has to be Vincent Janssen. Since his £17 million move from AZ Alkmaar in summer, he has struggled to showcase his finishing prowess in front of goal.
The Dutchman seems to have left his arsenal at the Eredivisie, where he was the top scorer in his debut campaign in top flight football. Presently, he has not scored a goal from open play in any competitions, only four successful spot kicks sparing his blushes.
The result of such poor form saw him being underutilised by manager Mauricio Pochettino and was linked with a loan move to Turkey club Galatasaray in the winter window. The 22-year-old turned down the offer as he admitted he had no intention of giving up on his hopes of being successful in England.
“When my agent turned up with Galatasaray I told him that he had to cut off the whole thing,” he told De Telegraaf (h/t Daily Mirror). “No way I am leaving Spurs in less than one year.”
“I have given myself 12 months to succeed in the Premier League with Tottenham and those 12 months are not over yet,” he said.
“The level is really high here. Up until last week we were second in the league.
“Don’t forget I had only played one season at the highest level in Holland when Spurs bought me from AZ Alkmaar. In a short period of time I have made some big steps forward in my career.
“I’m not going to throw the towel in just because things are not going great for the first time in my career.
“I am jumping to put the Spurs shirt on, but I will have to prove to the coach that I deserve to play.”
As soon as he made up his mind, Pochettino sanctioned a loan deal for young forward Shayon Harrison to join League Two side Yeovil until the end of the campaign. The 19-year-old striker was below Janssen in the pecking order and it could have been a different story if the Dutch forward packed his bags to Turkey.
Janssen failed to make the grade while filling Harry Kane’s void when the England hitman was shackled with an injury and missed 5 league matches. Just like the Spurs boss, fans were losing patience with him and were comparing him with former flop striker Roberto Soldado. In fact, Pochettino admitted this week that the fallen forward needs to show more in games and training.
The former Feyenoord starlet has only started 10 matches in the league for the north London club and failed to upturn his form in cup games. He was expected to get some pitch time in the 3-0 triumph over Fulham in the FA Cup tie at Craven Cottage but remained as an unused substitute.
In hindsight, Janssen should have accepted the temporary move to Turkey. It’s certainly not as combative as England’s top flight, therefore he could have found his scoring boots at Galatasaray and return with renewed confidence.
Tottenham Hotspur trail a goal down to Genk in the first-leg of Europa League Round of 32 and will look to turn fortunes around when they meet again in midweek at the Wembley Stadium. It’s not hard to predict that Janssen will be bidding for time on the bench yet again.
