Even though his career might have not taken off the way he would have hoped, Japhet Tanganga has revealed that he learned a lot from the experiences he gained in the Tottenham first team over the last few years.
Many Spurs supporters were very excited about Tanganga when he first broke into the senior side back in 2020. The youngster appeared to have all the raw materials to be top centre-back – pace, strength, technical quality and plenty of composure.
However, due to a number of factors, not least his injury woes, the centre-back’s development has stalled considerably over recent years.
The loan move to Augsburg last summer did not work for the Tottenham academy graduate, who failed to make a single appearance for the German side before returning to Spurs last month.
Tanganga has decided to drop down to the Championship to get his career back on track, having completed a loan switch to Millwall last month.
Japhet Tanganga is looking to put injuries behind him
The defender has made a promising start to his spell at the Den and he admitted that he is looking forward to playing some football after enduring years of injury troubles.
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Tangana told Sky Sports: “I’ve had my fair share of injuries or times where I’ve not been playing in my career. But the reason you become a footballer is to play. You love the game, and that’s so important to me. For my fitness and for myself.”
The Englishman worked with some big-name managers at Spurs over recent years and while not all of them seemed to trust him, he insisted that working under those coaches proved invaluable for his development.
Speaking about his experiences at Hotspur Way, he said: “Being at the age I was working under the top managers I did was surely every young player’s dream.
“There was Conte, Pochettino, Mourinho and Nuno. All managers who have done well in the game, so to be able to learn off of them from such a young age was the best thing I could have asked for.”
Tanganga also got the chance to train and play alongside some world-class centre-backs such as Jan Vertonghan and Toby Alderweireld at Tottenham.
When asked about sharing a dressing room with the Belgian duo, he said: “I’m always watching top centre-backs to see what I can learn from them. They were a big help to me coming through, they spoke to me a lot and really helped my game.
“It was also great to see how professional they were, and to take those lessons and use them in my career.”
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If not for his injury woes, I believe that Tanganga’s career trajectory would have been completely different. The defender seemed to pick up injuries at the wrong time, which meant that he never got a run in the Tottenham starting eleven.
Hopefully, he has now put those problems behind him and can get regular minutes under his belt during the next few months. There is no doubt that he has the talent to succeed in the Premier League but it remains to be seen if he is able to realise his potential.
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