Ronald Koeman and Vincent Janssen were once at Feyenoord together.
Tottenham’s Vincent Janssen
Tottenham Hotspur’s new striker Vincent Janssen has been quoted by The Sun as saying that he has nothing to prove to Everton manager Ronald Koeman, having worked together at Feyenoord.
Janssen, 22, hit 31 goals in all competitions for AZ Alkmaar last season, and his exploits in front of goal handed him a big-money move to White Hart Lane last month.
Tottenham’s Vincent Janssen in action with Atletico Madrid’s Filipe Luis
The Dutch international, who has scored three goals in five games for his country, will now compete with Harry Kane for a starting spot in Mauricio Pochettino’s line-up, and he could make his Premier League debut on the opening day of the season against Everton next week.
Should Janssen face the Toffees, he will be going up against Everton manager Ronald Koeman – the man who was in charge of Feyenoord whilst Janssen was coming up through the ranks with the Rotterdam club.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman
Janssen joined Feyenoord from NEC Nijmegen back in 2009, and after Koeman took over as manager at De Kuip in 2011, he spent two years in the youth ranks whilst Koeman was in charge of the first team, but failed to make a senior appearance for the club and was released at the age of just 18.
Janssen has now rebuilt his career and is looking to impress with Tottenham, and has been asked about the possibility of facing Koeman’s Everton next weekend.
Tottenham’s Vincent Janssen
As quoted by The Sun, Janssen says that he isn’t even sure Koeman knew who he was during their time at Feyenoord, and for that reason he feels he has nothing to prove to the Everton boss – but given that the Eredivisie side have a great record of promoting young talent, hitting a brick wall at De Kuip has to have been frustrating for Janssen.
“Koeman may have been head coach at Feyenoord but I never felt like he was my manager as I was in the youth team,” said Janssen. “I don’t even know if he knew I was there. I don’t have anything to prove to him,” he added.
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