Turkish club Fenerbahce have announced that they have come to a tentative agreement with Tottenham Hotspur to take Dutch striker Vincent Janssen on loan for the rest of the season.
While the move is not yet concrete, the Turkish club announced on their official website that the forward is flying to Istanbul to finalise terms and shore up the loan move.
The statement read:
“Our club, in principle, has agreed with the player himself and his club on the leasing of Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and Dutch national team striker Vincent Janssen.
The 23-year-old striker will arrive at Istanbul Atatürk Airport at 12:30 today and negotiations will continue in Istanbul.”
The Dutch international arrived at Tottenham only last year, with high hopes of being an able backup for Harry Kane. However, the striker failed to gel and take his chances which meant that he wasn’t a regular in Mauricio Pochettino’s plans.
His time at the White Hart Lane resulted in 6 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions. In the Premier League, he could score only two goals – one of which was a penalty.
With the arrival of Spanish striker Fernando Llorente from Swansea City on the deadline day, the writing was on the wall for Janssen. Though he moved further down the pecking order, he refused moves to three other Premier League teams before the window shut, hoping to push his way into the first team.
But, Pochettino has left him out of the Champions League group stage squad, further decreasing his chances of first-team action. Now with Fenerbahce announcing that the loan deal is about to go through, it looks like his time with the Lilywhites is all over.
Janssen has the reputation of being a good finisher with a very high work rate. His ability to float in the final third hasn’t really suited Tottenham’s style. It is almost certain that he would get no minutes this season for Tottenham and a move to Fenerbahce is his last option of salvaging his career.
There were talks of the Turkish giants making a loan move for Chelsea striker Diego Costa but that didn’t take off. Ironically, Janssen will now join Spurs flop Roberto Soldado at Fenerbahce.
Here’s wishing Janssen a good time in Turkey and probably prove Pochettino wrong with some impressive performances!
