Former Tottenham striker Vincent Janssen has opened up the difficulties he faced during his time in North London.
The striker joined Tottenham in 2016 for £18.6 million from AZ Alkmaar (Sky Sports) and had an expectation on his shoulders having just won the Eredivisie golden boot and having established himself in the Dutch national side.
Despite the promise, Janssen looked short of the desired quality from the second he stepped on the hallowed White Hart Lane turf. While his work rate couldn’t be questioned, he seemed to lack the sharpness required for the Premier League.
The striker has now admitted that he never quite managed to showcase the best of his ability at Spurs.
Speaking to Dutch media outlet VTBL (as translated by Football.London), Janssen said: “It was not the period I was hoping for at Tottenham. As a 22-year-old boy from AZ, this was a great step, but I didn’t make the minutes there that I expected.
“Also I did not reach my level there. Ultimately you want to play again, be a footballer and be appreciated.”
The 25-year-old also claimed that he didn’t get as many opportunities at North London as he would have liked.
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He added: “The first year at Tottenham I played 40 games, but a lot as a substitute,”
“In the second year with Fenerbahçe I got injured and in my last year with Tottenham, I was sidelined all season long.”
Janssen seems to have got a new lease of life since his move to FC Monterrey last summer. The Dutchman, who has found his goal-scoring boots again at his new club, admitted that he’s enjoying life in Mexico and to being surprised with the quality of Liga MX.
“I’m having a good time in Mexico. I have had many wonderful experiences recently. Last December we became champion of Mexico,” he added.
“It was my first championship, and to become that in Mexico after five months was something special.
“The Mexican league is very good and the level is just very high. It’s better than the [Eredivisie]. That’s my opinion.
“You have a lot of internationals here who come from this region of the world. There are two players who come from Europe, of which I am one.
“It is just a completely different way of playing football and it is certainly not bad in terms of quality.
“If you look at our team you will see that we have players of the national team of Mexico, Colombia or Argentina. There is a lot of quality, but it is a different way of playing football.
“It is not always the football that we are used to from the Netherlands. There are a lot of physically strong players here, so there is physical play. The game goes up and down faster here, but there are spaces.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is good to see that Janssen is enjoying life in Mexico. While he never had the sharpness or the technique to be successful for us, I thought his hold up play was quite decent at times.
I believed that he could be a useful option for a mid-table side. Hopefully, his performances for Monterrey will bring him to the attention of clubs and serve as his ticket back to European football.
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