Tottenham Lack Opportunities for Vincent Janssen

Nine months into his Tottenham career, it is harder than ever to figure how Vincent Janssen finds a way into Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI.

Though the Dutchman didn’t enjoy much hype surrounding his move to Tottenham last summer, his arrival at least suggested that the club were willing to invest to properly cover Harry Kane.

The club leans heavily on the England international, a practice that only makes sense when he scores 30 goals a season. Though Kane was lucky enough to not suffer any lasting injuries prior to Janssen’s move, it seemed only a matter of time before Spurs had to find a way to thrive without him.

When that time came, Janssen would be there to fill the void — at least in theory. In his first season with AZ Alkmaar he scored 27 goals in 34 league appearances. Yes, it was the Eredivisie, but that is still a magnificent haul for a player who only just turned 22 years old before Spurs signed him.

So confident was Pochettino that Janssen had a role to play that he actually started him alongside Kane in early matches of the 2016/17 season. The gimmick didn’t stick, mostly because neither player had much experience in a two striker system.

Even if that failed to pay off, Janssen could still hope for opportunities in rotation, particularly in cup matches both domestic and international. He scored from the penalty spot and assisted another in the EFL Cup match against Gillingham, and it felt then like just the beginning.

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Only Janssen wasn’t so much climbing the mountain as he was strolling across a plateau. In matches big and small the Dutchman failed to show up. He was fine with hold up play, but seemed out of sync with those players who so naturally molded around the game Kane usually played at striker.

All of this became especially evident following Kane’s injury in September. Though this was exactly the situation that Janssen was brought in for, he failed to impress. It was as if, a year after selling Roberto Soldado after his disastrous stint in north London, Spurs went out and bought his Dutch clone.

Injury complicated issues through the winter, as did Kane’s fiery return to form. By the time Spurs once again had good reason to play out their plan for Janssen after Kane suffered another injury in March, the 22-year-old was so far off the radar to be irrelevant.

Heung-min Son, thus far, has proved to be the primary beneficiary of Kane’s absence. The South Korean has played the bulk of the last two matches in the striker role Janssen was supposed to occupy.

Even when Pochettino recognized the need to substitute Son off the pitch in last weekend’s match against Southampton, it wasn’t Janssen he turned to immediately. Dele Alli was pushed forward into a striker role for over ten minutes before Janssen was brought on to play out the final three minutes of regular time.

Such indignities and slights — however grounded in reality they might have been — were bound to wear on the confidence of the young man. It’s hardly a surprise, then, that in a recent interview with Voetbal International (h/t the Evening Standard) he struggled to strike a balance between pessimism and optimism.

"“Of course I’m not satisfied with the amount of playing time in recent months. But I remain positive. Moreover, things are going very well at Tottenham Hotspur. I’m not going to walk around as the only player whining. That makes no sense.”"

Pochettino made noises lately that Janssen’s time will come as the club awaits Kane’s return. A run of upcoming matches against bottom half teams might provide a good opportunity for Janssen to find his footing in the game once again.

It remains to be seen though if those are enough opportunities to convince those that need convincing that he’s worth holding on to. With the club perhaps ready to move on from the other flop from last summer, Moussa Sissoko, it is clear that Janssen isn’t safe.

There’s enough contrast between Janssen and Sissoko to offer some hope. While the 27-year-old French international has plenty of Premier League experience and never looked particularly promising but for Euro 2016, Janssen is young and still able to ride the success of his season with AZ.

Next: The Agony of Pochettino's Lunch Meetings

In short: in Janssen Pochettino has a project, one with plenty of time to see play out. Adjusting to the Premier League is never easy, particularly for players coming from the Eredivisie. He deserves more minutes this season, and at least another year to prove he was what he first appeared to be last July.