OPINION
If you look up “forgotten man” in the dictionary, you will see a picture of Vincent Janssen.
The Dutchman has been emphatically ostracised at Tottenham this season, and by all accounts, his time in north London falls very much into the category of “borrowed”.
Or at least, that seemed to be the case, until manager Mauricio Pochettino spoke out on the striker.
Speaking in a press conference yesterday, as quoted by Football.London, he said: “We were helping him to recover. He was struggling with his fitness. He had problems with his feet. In the last months, he was training consistently with the team.
“And now that he is in a position where he can help the team, of course, he is available to use, why not?”
That certainly casts a different light on things as far as the 24-year-old is concerned.
He will never be first choice at Spurs that much is abundantly clear, but if Pochettino is serious, then who’s to say that he can’t still play a decent role for the club between now and the end of the season?
Harry Kane is injured, but it is Pochettino’s other striking option, Fernando Llorente, who Janssen could learn from most.
The veteran Spaniard certainly knows a thing or two about being out in the cold, and about making it back into the fold again, and if Janssen is prudent,he will follow his example to reignite his career in north London.
Spurs are coming to a crucial juncture, not just in this season, but in the recent history of the club, and against all the odds, if he plays his cards right, the 17 cap Dutch international could play a decent part in it.