Vincent Janssen deserves to remain at Tottenham

Striker Vincent Janssen should be given another opportunity to establish himself at Tottenham Hotspur before both entities move on.

It’s understandable pockets of Tottenham Hotspur supporters are already prepared to move on from striker Vincent Janssen after a less-than-stellar debut campaign with Spurs. After all, members of the Tottenham faithful are still haunted by the memories of Roberto Soldado repeatedly failing to score while wearing Lilywhite. You only need put your hand on a hot stove once to learn doing so is a regretful, and painful, mistake.

Janssen, of course, is not Soldado is multiple facets. For starters, Soldado was already a proven and accomplished veteran when he first made the journey to White Hart Lane, hilariously via Ryanair, and it often felt as if the front man affectionately known as Bobby Soldier among some Spurs supporters was snakebitten throughout his stint with the Premier League outfit. His struggles had nothing to do with lack of effort or even lack of understanding of a new system or playing in a different country. Soldado simply couldn’t hit the back of the net. It happens.

Janssen, meanwhile, remains very much an unproven product. He joined Tottenham from AZ Alkmaar, where, no disrespect meant, he didn’t face a wide variety of the toughest competition in the world. He has no long history of participating in European competitions or even for the Holland national team. It’s also worth noting Janssen turns 23 years old on June 15. His physical prime, not to mention the peak of his skills, should be ahead of him.

Janssen was never meant to be a first-choice option for Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino when he signed for Spurs last summer. The hope, at the time, was that Janssen would ease into the team and make some sporadic appearances while serving as cover for Harry Kane. One could’ve almost felt sorry for Janssen, then, when his situation changed after Kane suffered an ankle injury in September.

Janssen, who scored 27 goals in the Eredivisie during the 2015-16 campaign, largely appeared lost playing underneath the bright lights of the England top-flight. He struggled to find a home in the Tottenham attack, and he failed to make good use of his chances when he had opportunities to make impacts during contests. Things appeared so dire during the early stages of fall, in fact, that the hope was that Kane would be able to return ahead of schedule to prevent disaster from crushing Tottenham’s title chances before the holiday season.

This past April, Janssen explained to The Sun he was frustrated by his lackluster season:

"“There have been a lot of rumours about me leaving but I have not been at the club for a year yet. When I joined I signed a long contract and I am happy here.“Of course I am disappointed with my number of goals but I am not a quitter. I like the club — my team-mates, the staff, the fans, the training, everything — and we are doing well, so why would I leave?”"

Janssen, Pochettino, Tottenham supporters and anybody else associated with the club should remember it takes some footballers an entire season, if not longer, to get acclimated to playing in the Premier League. As cliché as it may be to say and type, the Premier League features a brand of physicality, pace and competition not found in other European leagues. “But can he do it on a cold Tuesday night in Stoke?” is something we joke about, sure, but there is some truth behind that flippant question.

Spurs obviously need cover for Kane even if he remains healthy for the bulk of the 2017-18 campaign. Tottenham will, again, be chasing a Premier League title while at the same attempting to both remain in the Champions League through the start of winter and also acquire a trophy that has alluded the club for far too long.

Let’s be realistic about the team’s situation. Tottenham aren’t signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, even on a free. Spurs clearly won’t be paying the transfer fee for a forward such as Romelu Lukaku, Alvaro Morata or Antoine Griezmann. It’s quite possible Tottenham’s best available upgrade at the position is already signed.

Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Danny Rose and the previously mentioned Kane have all flourished playing in Pochettino’s system and underneath the boss’ tutelage. Janssen now has a season in England behind him, and he knows what Pochettino wants and even demands from his younger talents. Tottenham don’t yet know what they have in Janssen, which is why the club needs to retain his services for another season.