Who on Earth is Vincent Janssen?
A deal looks close: but just what exactly are Spurs in for?
The boneyard for players who’ve made an ill-fated jump from The Eredivisie to the English Premier League is a well populated one. For every Luis Suarez and Ruud Van Nistelrooy, big names in Dutch football whose gifts only seemed to improve as the world around them got tougher, there’s an Afonso Alves or a Mateja Kežman, thudding against a glass ceiling and wishing they hadn’t bothered.
And so we arrive, at Vincent Janssen. The in-demand Dutch striker appeared on the British media’s radar in late-March, when he top-corner-walloped a penalty past Fraser Forster at Wembley. There’re few better ways to create a buzz in this nation’s gossip columns than scoring against England. Throw in a MOTM performance and you might as well start looking at house prices in London or Manchester.
Tottenham’s interest in the former Feyenoord academy graduate appears to have intensified in the last few weeks. Alongside his eye-catching performance in the Capital, Janssen hit 27 goals for AZ Alkmaar last season, making him the Eredivisie’s leading scorer. Following in the footsteps of Spurs hall of famer, Mounir El Hamdaoui.
Reports suggest that solid contact has been made between Spurs and the two-time Dutch Champions. AZ appear to be fairly receptive to the idea of losing their prized asset and a £12million fee looks like being the magic number that will grease the transfer wheels into motion.
But Is He Any Good?
By all accounts, Janssen is a versatile sort. Not just the one-dimensional, cold-blooded finisher that being dubbed the New Van Nistelrooy might suggest, the young Dutchman’s composition as a footballer appears to be more nuanced. For one, a competent passer of the ball; his success rate for last season dipped just under the 74% mark— above average for a lone target man.
As well as being built like a concrete pillar— which makes holding the ball up seem terribly straight forward for Janssen— he’s been endowed with a surprising amount of pace. His outing at Wembley highlighted how readily he could stretch defences with his natural speed and intelligent movement.
It can be no coincidence that he has a similar profile to Harry Kane. Young, hardworking, technically gifted. If Spurs can follow through with the negotiations, in theory, Janssen would be an ideal candidate to keep Kane on his toes next season. And, heck, give the lad a bit of a rest after the Euros.
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