Playing for 90
Fansided

The curious case of Tottenham and Vincent Janssen

By Jonathan Liebling

(L-R) Ouasim Bouy of PEC Zwolle, Vincent Janssen of AZ Alkmaar during the Dutch Eredivisie match between AZ and PEC Zwolle at the AFAS stadium on april 16, 2016 in Alkmaar, the Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
(L-R) Ouasim Bouy of PEC Zwolle, Vincent Janssen of AZ Alkmaar during the Dutch Eredivisie match between AZ and PEC Zwolle at the AFAS stadium on april 16, 2016 in Alkmaar, the Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Vincent Janssen is making enough noise to land in Tottenham. But will that make the Eredivisie leading goal scorer happy?

AZ Alkmaar’s preseason camp began, and to no surprise, Vincent Janssen was nowhere to be found. He has openly expressed this week his desire to make a move to Spurs.

So much so, that he turned down a transfer bid from PSG, which was reportedly higher than Tottenham’s offer. Janssen went on to criticize his club for not agreeing to the fair bid made by Spurs and for not allowing him to walk out the door on good terms.

"“I want nothing more than to leave through the front door while shaking everyone’s hand [i.e. on good terms with everyone] because I’ve had a fantastic year here and have been able to grow a lot under John v.d. Brom. The best thing would be is if Tottenham, AZ and Vincent Janssen are satisfied. This could be the case already if it weren’t for AZ blocking my dream move which is incredibly disappointing for me.” Says the Eredivisie top goalscorer."

Many people expect the 22-year-old Eredivisie golden boot winner to join Pochettino and the boys at White Hart Lane this week. If, of course, AZ accept the reported bid worth close to 18 million Euros.

Tottenham were in a similar situation last year when West Bromwich Albion refused to let go of, now forgotten striker, Saido Berahino. Berahino made a big social media push to leave his club, as Janssen is doing now, but West Brom held strong. In an effort to show the player some humility, West  Brom benched it’s star striker, something AZ cannot afford to do. 

More from Playing for 90

AZ Alkmaar purchased Janssen for a mere 500,000 euros and expect to make a huge return on their investment. Their evaluation of Janssen seems to be higher than that of PSG, Wolfsburg, and Tottenham so it will be interesting to see if a final transfer fee can be decided on.

Vincent Janssen is full steam ahead to join Tottenham but will he find happiness? It may not be easy for the league leading striker to play second fiddle to Harry Kane. If Janssen expects to start, Pochettino would have to switch to a 4-4-2 with one of the Spurs star midfielders to sit. That would be a tall order and not a very likely scenario. Best case Janssen can hope for would be to rotate in during Capital Cup and FA matches, with the occasional spot start between Champions League fixtures.

Janssen is making a lot of noise to leave his current club, and it may very well work. The question then becomes; how long until he turns on Tottenham?

Home/Premier League