Vincent Janssen: 5 things you need to know about the new Tottenham Hotspur striker
After weeks of Negotiation, Tottenham have finally signed Dutch international striker, Vincent Janssen, from AZ Alkmaar. So who is Vincent Janssen and why does he merit the attention of Tottenham despite them having the Premier League’s top scorer Harry Kane in their ranks? The answer is quite simple really. Janssen over the past two seasons has demonstrated his goalscoring abilities.
The suggested fee of only £12 million is a real bargain in today's transfer market where many teams do not blink twice before parting with transfer fees upwards of £20 million to land players they need.
Janssen’s progression over the past couple of seasons has been phenomenal and an exposure to the fast and physical English Premier League might well suit a player with his attributes.
Most importantly, Spurs need to curb their over-reliance on Harry Kane, who has single-handedly carried the goalscoring burden for them over the past 2 seasons. Yet modern football is an unforgiving arena and all it takes is one bad season with poor form or riddled with injuries for a player to be ditched.
Case in point, Janssen’s fellow Dutchman Robin van Persie. Once the most lethal finisher in the erstwhile BPL, he now finds himself plying his trade in the unfancied Turkish league with Fenerbahce. Hence, Tottenham might want to buttress Harry Kane with a proven goalscoring option in Janssen. He might also bring about a change in the system with two strikers upfront instead of one.
#1 Played second division football
A year back, the 21-year-old Janssen was playing for Almere City in the Dutch second division. Having scored 19 goals for them in the 2014/2015 season, he caught the eye of scouts from AZ who recommended signing him and thus a move to the Dutch Eredivisie found fruition.
He played for Almere City from 2013-2015 and scored 32 goals in total from 74 games. During his time at Almere City, he also represented Netherlands at the Under 20 and Under 21 level, scoring 2 and 8 goals at those levels respectively.
His brilliance shone through and he displayed composure belying his tender years, with his finishing prowess powering Almere City to 10th position in the Dutch second division or Eerste Divisie – their best finish in a decade.
Like many Dutch players before him, Janssen had to work hard to earn his time in the spotlight. Post his youth contract at Feyenoord, Almere City was the only viable option for him and he had to work hard to prove himself.