They managed to play the entirety of last season with Harry Kane as the their only recognised centre-forward, but Spurs fans will be relieved to know that last season’s Golden Boot winner now has backup.
Vincent Janssen, the Netherlands striker, has officially signed from AZ Alkmaar on a four-year deal.
Transfer complete: Vincent Janssen signs. Full story here – https://t.co/raDxvj1Lw4 pic.twitter.com/wcpzvVmBou
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 12, 2016
The 22-year-old moves to White Hart Lane on the back of an impressive breakthrough season in the Eredivisie, where his 27 goals in 34 league appearances helped AZ to a top-four finish. Like Kane, he finished the season as his division’s top scorer.
Just 18 months ago Janssen was playing for Almere City in the Dutch second tier, in front of a crowd of 3,000 fans. 32 goals in 74 appearances earned him a move to AZ last summer, and Spurs reportedly had to fend off interest from Wolfsburg and French champions PSG to land the striker.
Janssen’s performances in his debut top-flight season meant he also picked up the 2016 Johan Cruyff Trophy, which is awarded to the best young player in Dutch football, and has previously been won by Tottenham fan favourites Christian Eriksen and Rafael van der Vaart.
He made his international debut earlier this year and has since scored three goals in five appearances, including one against England.
Tottenham’s £17m move to Janssen completes their second piece of summer transfer business, after Victor Wanyama was signed for £11m from Southampton last month.
Wanyama and Janssen for a combined £30million looks like more very smart business from Tottenham #thfc
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) July 12, 2016
Whether or not Janssen can make the same explosive impact on the Premier League as he has done in his native Netherlands remains to be seen, but Tottenham fans seem pretty happy that they are no longer solely reliant on star man Harry Kane.
The fact Janssen turned down PSG to have his 'dream move' to Tottenham makes me love the guy already
— Suzanne (@Suzannethfc) July 12, 2016
https://twitter.com/chapmancmc/status/752818339429380096
https://twitter.com/KevinSpurs23/status/752819359618244608
https://twitter.com/RSA_Spurs/status/752819052247150603
Looking forward to Spurs' round of Eredivisie top scorer roulette with the signing of Janssen
— William Paul (@willpooool) July 12, 2016
https://twitter.com/Desh_P/status/752820373566152704
