Tottenham Hotspur loanee Arnaut Danjuma has barely had a kick since joining Spurs in the January transfer window.
He has made just four appearances for Tottenham, all off the bench, for a mere 47 minutes of game time.
With Antonio Conte subsequently leaving Spurs, the hope was that Danjuma could be in line for more game time.
However, Cristian Stellini has now suggested that this may not necessarily be the case.
The Spurs interim manager spoke at his pre-match press conference on Thursday, ahead of the Brighton match.
Football.london’s Alasdair Gold asked Stellini whether Danjuma could get more playing time.
This is in wake of injuries as well as Lucas Moura’s suspension.
Stellini replied: “Now for sure because we don’t have many players but Danjuma deserves to play probably early.
“But we also have a squad and some leaders of our team and if you send them out of the team then you can lose the ability to score.
“We have three very good strikers and it’s not easy to change them.
“You have to find the right way and the right moment and also now tactically we don’t have many solutions, and we don’t have enough players.”
These are concerning comments from Stellini with regards to Danjuma’s chances of game time.
He’s suggesting that, while the 26-year-old deserves to play, there simply isn’t any room for him at present.
At most, Danjuma could hope for a few more appearances here and there, but nothing to suggest he has a future at N17.
Admittedly, competition for Tottenham’s attacking spots in the starting XI is fierce.
However, you can’t help but feel sorry for Danjuma, a player who was the talk of the town last season.
His efforts helped Villarreal reach the Champions League semi-finals in 2021-22.
Danjuma is proven at the highest level and has been deemed a “golden” player by Rafael van der Vaart.
In 2021, the Spurs cult hero told VoetbalZone that Danjuma reminded him of Netherlands legend Arjen Robben.
“We have a golden player on our hands,” he said. “He can decide something, like Robben.
“Gave him the ball, something is happening. Danjuma has that. He makes you sit on the edge of your seat.”
The likelihood is Spurs won’t sign him at the end of the season, and he won’t want to stay either.
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