Tottenham Might Not Turn to Vincent Janssen

With Harry Kane possibly sidelined yet again, Tottenham desperately need to fill the void left by their star striker — though it remains uncertain if Vincent Janssen is the man to do it.

Just ten minutes into Tottenham’s match against Millwall Sunday, Kane appeared to suffer a recurrence of the ankle injury that kept him out of the side for ten matches in the autumn.

While the severity of this latest injury has yet to be determined, Spurs need to begin considering the possibility that Kane might miss the rest of the season. How exactly do you go about replacing the production of arguably the best striker in England?

There are no clear answers here. On Sunday, Mauricio Pochettino elected to push Heung-min Son forward into a striker role after Kane left the pitch. His subsequent hat-trick was certainly encouraging, but it remains to be seen if the South Korean can prove as reliable against Premier League opponents.

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In electing to play Son out of position, Pochettino was also delivering a not-to-subtle jab at the only other proper striker at the club.

Spurs clearly once had high hopes for Janssen. Tottenham paid nearly £20 million for the Dutch international last summer, a fee second only the record amount paid for Moussa Sissoko that window.

At the time there seemed some uncertainly as to how Janssen fit into the side. Was he merely an understudy for Kane or would there be a place for both strikers on the same pitch?

At first it seemed as if Pochettino was optimistic about the latter option. Janssen and Kane teamed up in early matches against Everton, Crystal Palace and Liverpool. With two draws and one narrow win from those matches, it was clear that a two striker system might not be ideal.

The two players tended to get in each other’s ways, with neither being the central focus of the attack. It also forced Pochettino sacrifice one of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Érik Lamela, all of whom were excellent for Spurs last season.

While that experiment failed, there was still hope for Janssen as a rotation option. In the matches he starts though, the Dutchman struggles. While his hold-up play is valuable, he lacks the ability to pivot and threaten the goal consistently. In short, he only performs half of the job he’s assigned as a striker.

His poor record on the pitch and lack of improvement in training apparently put him on the outs with Pochettino long before Kane’s latest injury. Though always included in matchday squads and occasionally featuring as a substitute, Pochettino was clearly not anxious to grant him another start. His decision to bring on Eriksen instead of Janssen on Sunday only solidified that impression.

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When he finally made it onto the pitch on Sunday he managed to score his first ever goal from open play in England. His puzzling celebration — or lack thereof — suggests he knows this was a long time coming.

Son’s hat-trick likely means that Janssen will have to wait for his second such goal. Pochettino seems much more likely to stick with the South Korean in the short term. With Son also struggling at times this season, it could be that Janssen still has a chance to jump-start his first season with Spurs.