While admitting that he would ‘love to work with’ the Tottenham Hotspur man during 2024/25, the manager is under no illusions.
Targeting a deal is one thing. Actually making happen, however, is an altogether different challenge, not only because of the finances involved but also because of the competition that is likely to emerge.
Perhaps the club who signed one of Tottenham Hotspur’s forgotten men during the January transfer window became a victim of their own success.
The arrival of Japhet Tanganga – coinciding with the return of club legend Neil Harris as manager – saw Millwall go from a fierce relegation dogfight to the fluffy comfort of mid-table in the second half of last term. Tanganga had never scored a career goal until joining the London outfit until opening his account at last during a shock win at promotion chasing Southampton.
The former England Under 21 international then repeated the trick against Birmingham City a fortnight later before shining during a five-match winning run which secured a more-than creditable 13th place finish.
No wonder Millwall want to keep Tanganga. No wonder Harris is expecting a battle for a man who, with all due respect, can probably afford to aim a little higher in his pursuit of regular first-team football, his agent floating a potential move to Serie A recently.
Japhet Tanganga could leave Tottenham permanently
“It’s really important that everybody understands, not just Neil Harris and his team-mates, but the whole football club is a big fan of Japhet Tanganga,” the Millwall boss tells the South London Press. “I would love to work with him.
“Japhet is a player who will be in demand over this transfer window. As a football club, sometimes, we can only push as far when we go through a process which is involving individuals, agents and football clubs.
“It’s safe to say that we have pushed hard to see if Japhet is a possibility for us in this window.
“Where I am hugely respectful as well is that there is a lot that goes into signing a player, it’s not just involving money between clubs and agents, it becomes a lot of different scenarios.”
Tanganga, who won the Man of the Match award in a 1-0 opening weekend victory over Manchester City during the short-lived Nuno Espirito Santo era in 2021, appears to have no future under current Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou.
Big changes expected at Spurs this summer
Like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Bryan Gil and Giovani Lo Celso, he is one of a number of players who have slipped down the pecking order. Postecoglou, meanwhile, has made no secret of his desire to trim down a bloated squad and build a new team in his image.
Whether Tanganga would be open to staying at Millwall remains to be seen. Harris, however, is hoping that the 25-year-old’s London roots will work in The Lions’ favour.
“Family becomes a huge (factor). When players have options to maybe be abroad, they have to speak to them as well. There are moments in players’ careers which are hugely pivotal,” the Millwall legend adds.
“We’re massively respectful at the early part of June, not just with Japh, but with other players as well – things have to be aligned.
“Of course we like Japhet, but there are lots of aspects that go into signing a player.”
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