Tottenham Hotspur have announced this week the signing of Vincent Jannsen, formerly of AZ Alkmaar in a £17m deal.
Jannsen has officially arrived at White Hart Lane after telling representatives that he wanted to leave Alkmaar following the news of interest emanating out of North London earlier this summer.
A statement was made by Janssen to the press before the move that read: “I would like to be somewhere else as soon as possible to start pre-season training.
“I would like to leave AZ Alkmaar with my head held high, with the support of fans. Alkmaar have been great to me, but I believe it is time to move on to aid my own development.”
Janssen, scored 27 goals in all competitions for AZ last season, and at 22-years-old looks well suited to slot into Mauricio Pochettino’s exciting young squad.
After a disappointing European Championship campaign, last year’s leading Premier League top goalscorer, Harry Kane, has come under fire from England supporters in the last few weeks, and Pochettino will have been watching the strikers performances with a headache.
With this in mind, it seems the Spurs number nine contest has been blown wide open, and Transfer Tavern have identified three reasons why new boy Janssen could take Kane’s starting spot next season…
Pace
Both the Dutchman and Kane like to go looking for the ball rather then sticking to the central forward area, which is a key attribute for Pochettino’s system, who likes the three attacking midfielders to interchange and give defenders a problem.
However, what Kane lacks is an ability to beat defenders for speed, which is often noted when Spurs play defences with agile centre-halves.
This is where Janssen can prevail. The youngster is quick off the mark and has scored key goals for the Cheeseheads by latching on to long balls, outrunning defenders before slotting into the opposition goal.
A quicker centre forward can tire defences, leaving greater space for wingers and midfielders to find passes and advanced areas. Jamie Vardy of Premier League champions, Leicester City, illustrates this concept.
Passing
Spurs fans will know that Kane likes to drop deep, pick up the ball and look to keep the possession ticking, granted.
Kane has lacked a centre-forward who drops regularly, able to pick key passes.
Janssen has been praised during his time at Alkmaar for his ability to cut open defences, who frequently finds key passes in around the final third for his team mates.
From January onwards, the Holland international picked up four league assists to accompany his 27 goals over the course of the season. Kane picked up one assist in all competitions last season.
The 22-year-old has also been lauded by the Dutch press for his range of passing… If Harry Kane’s England set piece horror show is anything to go by, that’s another one up for Vincent.
Ex-Eredivisie first-team stars
Foreign Spurs signings of recent years have often failed to hit the ground running, Roberto Soldado, Erik Lamela and Paulinho exemplifying this point.
What they all had in common is a lack of understanding with the players around them. The trio made moves from La Liga, Serie A and the Brazilian super league respectively.
And at the time of their arrival, there was a scarce number of footballers in the squad that had experience of the named divisions, which presented a clear problem: lack of understanding.
First team regulars Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen, who have all played substantial terms of their careers in the Eredivisie, will be able to talk to Janssen about the challenges and style differences that the Premier League brings.
It was the Alli/Kane partnership season… Could there be an argument for Eriksen/Janssen?
He will have a lot to do to knock Kane off Pochettino’s favourite throne, but there’s one thing for sure, the Englishman has finally been given some healthy competition for the Spurs number nine role.
