One of Tottenham’s success stories in an otherwise underwhelming campaign was the emergence of young Japhet Tanganga. The 21-year-old was one of the most exciting prospects in Spurs’ academy, but not many people expected to see him play for the senior side last season.
Jose Mourinho surprised the world in January when the team news was announced before Tottenham’s big home game against league leaders, Liverpool.
Tanganga was handed his Premier League debut by the Spurs boss and the youngster performed fairly well in what was a difficult game.
The youngster was asked about his thoughts a day before the game and he admitted that he was watching YouTube videos of Sadio Mane to get a better idea of how to deal with him.
He told TalkSport: “The boss [Jose Mourinho] pulled me aside a couple of days before the game and said, ‘do you want to play at the weekend?’, and I was like, ‘well, yeah!’ Even though I was nervous I obviously couldn’t say no – that’s what we train for.”
“So before the game I was YouTubing Mane and basically scouting him. I was watching him twisting guys up and I was like, ‘this could be me, man’. So I was nervous, but I had a decent game and he didn’t embarrass me or anything.”
What next for Tanganga?
Tanganga has now played in every position across the back-line and even on the right-wing. His versatility is a massive boost for Mourinho, who has already shown that he trusts the youngster despite his inexperience.
The 21-year-old signed a new deal at Tottenham in July which will keep him at the club until the summer of 2025. That new contract showed that Spurs have huge faith in him, which would have given him a lot of confidence.
With Jan Vertonghen now gone, Tanganga is likely to get more game time. Mourinho can use him in the Europa League next season and a few good performances there will force the Spurs boss to make him a regular in the Premier League as well very soon.
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