Tottenham should have moved for Quincy Promes instead of Vincent Janssen.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
Last summer Mauricio Pochettino was pictured watching an international friendly between Holland and Ireland, taking the chance to watch Vincent Janssen first hand.
The Mail reported Janssen was the player he was checking out, and this proved to be the case as he signed two months later.
The Irish Independent had asked after the game if Pochettino was casting an eye over Shane Long, especially as he was pictured with the striker’s representative Pat Dolan.
Several months on, and it seems Pochettino may have signed the wrong player after all, with Janssen failing to impress – and Long also struggling.
Janssen has failed to score from open play this season, while Long has only done so twice in 21 league appearances..
| Team | Goals Open Play | Mins Played | Appearances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Long | Southampton | 2 | 789 | 21 |
| Vincent Janssen | Tottenham | 0 | 621 | 18 |
The answer instead, was Janssen’s Dutch international teammate Quincy Promes, who featured for all 90 minutes of the match last May.
Promes has had an excellent season at Spartak Moscow once again, and is the dynamic winger Tottenham lack.
Janssen was signed as a back-up striker to Harry Kane, but more important is a winger capable of unlocking defences, as Tottenham discovered against Gent over two legs in the Europa League.
Netherlands’ Quincy Promes in action as Republic of Ireland’s John O’Shea looks on
Promes has scored six goals and provided seven assists in 14 Russian Premier League matches this season, contributing at a rate of 13 in 14.
This follows up his 18 goal haul in 30 games for CSKA last season, and at 25-years-old Promes is the right profile in terms of age of a player Spurs should be looking to sign.
This summer Tottenham could do worse than attempt to land the player who Pochettino mistakenly overlooked last summer.
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