Former Tottenham Hotspur and Premier League flop Vincent Janssen will take on Barcelona in the Champions League tonight with Blaugrana boss Xavi Hernandez a big fan of the towering Dutchman.
Much has been made of Harry Kane going head-to-head with Manchester United this week – a blockbuster European debut for his new Bayern Munich employers just 24 hours away – but another, albeit far less heralded, former Tottenham Hotspur forward will also be hoping to leave his mark on the biggest of stages.
Vincent Janssen, surely one of the worst pound-for-pound signings in Tottenham’s modern history at £17 million, heads to the Camp Nou in the midst of his best form since those AZ Alkmaar days.
Tottenham flop Vincent Janssen shining at Royal Antwerp
After scoring 21 goals last season – firing Royal Antwerp to their first Jupiler League title since 1957 – Janssen has picked up where he left off, beginning the new campaign with six in just eight games.
No wonder Xavi has identified Janssen as one of Antwerp’s biggest ‘dangermen’ as the Belgian visitors look to cause a shock at one of the continent’s most iconic football arenas.
“Janssen is very dangerous as a striker,” Xavi tells Voetbal Primeur.
“At Antwerp, they have a good mix of experience and youth. They have a great team. That is also the reason why they became champions in Belgium.”
An ‘amazing’ turnaround
Janssen left Spurs for just £6 million after scoring two goals in 31 Premier League games between 2016 and 2019. In fact, the Dutchman was so bafflingly profligate during his time in North London that you could have dedicated a whole chapter to him in one of those old ‘Own Goals and Gaffes’ stocking filler DVDs, hitting just about everything but the back of the net in Tottenham colours.
“(Janssen’s revival) is amazing,” the legendary Ally McCoist told ITV Sport after the 29-year-old earned a call-up for the Dutch squad for the 2022 World Cup.
“Because, quite frankly, he was poor at Spurs wasn’t he. He was poor at Spurs.”
Poor at Spurs, yes, but prolific in Antwerp.
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