Tottenham Hotspur confirmed the €22 million signing of Vincent Janssen on Tuesday rounding off an incredible few years for the Dutch striker. Michael Bell looks at the key moments of his career so far.
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July 2013: Signs for Almere City
Janssen started his career in the youth teams of Feyenoord, but was not deemed good enough by the Rotterdam side and was released at the end of the 2012/13 season.
He was offered the chance to sign for some Eredivisie sides, but was not guaranteed a first team spot and decided to drop down into the Eerste Divisie with Almere City, who were coached by now Netherlands U21 coach Fred Grim.
August 3rd, 2013: Janssen makes professional debut
The striker made his debut for Almere City as a late substitute in a 3-2 defeat against Volendam, coming off the bench for 19 minutes, but two games later he was in the starting line-up and provided an assist in a 2-1 defeat to Dordrecht.
August 24th, 2013: Janssen nets first professional goal
After three straight defeats in the league, it was Janssen who proved to be the catalyst in Almere City’s first win of the season, scoring and assisting in a 3-1 win over Achilles 29.
This performance cemented Janssen in the clubs starting line-up and he went on to net 10 goals in his first league campaign. A year later the striker almost doubled his tally, netting 19 goals in the 2013/14 season, whilst providing nine assists. Janssen scored in the end of season play-off against De Graafschap, but it proved not enough to seal promotion.
Janssen was named as young player of the year in the second division and started a transfer frenzy.
June 25th, 2015: Janssen signs for AZ Alkmaar
The then 21-year-old could have signed for Sparta Rotterdam, or several clubs from Germany and Belgium, but decided that AZ Alkmaar was the club for him after talks with John van den Brom.
AZ paid €400,000 for the striker, who was initially signed as backup to Aron Johannsson, but the American international left for Werder Bremen, leaving Janssen as the first choice forward.
October 4th, 2015: First Eredivisie goal
Janssen took some time getting used to the step up to the Eredivisie, and didn’t score in AZ Alkmaar’s first seven games, but finally found his form in a 3-1 win over FC Twente, in which Janssen netted a double.
24th of January, 2016: Sweet revenge against Feyenoord
After the winter break, Janssen hit top form starting with a goal against Roda JC and then his first Eredivisie hat-trick versus his former club Feyenoord. The match was the perfect revenge for Janssen, who proved the Rotterdam club were wrong to let him go with three goals and he departed the pitch to a standing ovation with two minutes left of the 4-2 win.
The hat-trick and the goal against Roda JC kickstarted an incredible run for Janssen, which saw him 17 goals before the end of the season, sealing his place as Eredivisie top scorer and earning him the young player of the year award. His second in the space of two years.
29th March, 2016: Scores on first Netherlands start
Janssen’s form earned him his first call-up for the Dutch national team for the friendly matches against France and England in March. He made his debut as a late substitute in the 3-2 defeat against France and was then awarded with his first start against England at Wembley.
Janssen proved a constant torment to the English defence, and netted his first international goal from the penalty spot before assisting Luciano Narsingh as Netherlands ran out 2-1 winners.
July 12th, 2016: Janssen signs for Tottenham
After weeks of speculation and rumours, Vincent Janssen finally sealed his “dream move” to Tottenham in a €22 million deal. Janssen signed a four-year deal in London and will now look to prove himself in a third different league in three years.
Janssen’s rise since 2013 has been incredible and who knows what the next twelve months will hold for the 22-year-old.
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