The signing of Vincent Janssen by Tottenham does prove that they mean business as the 22-year-old striker is one of the best from Holland and certainly, will add a lot of firepower and goals to the London side.
Tottenham were heavily dependent on the scoring exploits of Harry Kane last season but the sheer pressure that the English striker has to deal with did lead him to start last season on a bit of a lull. The 22-year-old did manage to find his shooting boots but for any growing club that has huge ambitions, having just one good striker cannot be enough.
Janssen has already shown that he can fit into the team really well and score goals as he bagged his first one for Spurs in a recent friendly against Rotherham but the big question that everyone would have is what does Mauricio Pochettino do with two international strikers who are at the top of their game?
Should he play them together or keep one on the bench?
Two is always better than one
Tottenham played most of the last season with just one striker up top who was supported by the midfield or wingers; this would certainly have to change if Janssen has to be fitted into the team. We are pretty certain that the 22-year-old Dutch star, who was the top scorer in the Eredivisie last season, has not come to Tottenham to warm the bench and wait for a chance.
If Janssen is to keep growing, much like Harry Kane, he has to play and regularly and this can only mean that Pochettino must shift to a two-man striker force for this season. Both players, Kane and Janssen are extremely mobile and are full of running. Although both of them are used to playing as the main striker, it does not mean that they cannot play as a pair.
Football doesn’t really see a lot of two-man pairings anymore, the dynamics of the game have changed and most teams like to stick with just the on striker up top but there are a few clubs that go with two strikers and do pretty well, Watford were one club that just did that last season, though they had two really strong players in Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney.
Janssen and Kane are two of the best finishers in the game and both can hold the ball really well, so no doubt they could play well in tandem. The Dutch attacker also is known for his passing and link up play, while Kane often works well with Dele Alli, who is shifted into the attacking midfielder’s role more often than not.
Playing the strikers together would mean that Tottenham has to sacrifice one of the wingers, One of Christian Eriksen, Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela or Dele Alli (who plays more as a central attacking midfielder) must be placed on the bench for the two striker formation to work.
While it might end in disappointment for one player, it certainly would help Tottenham in the long run as Kane and Janssen could be one of the most lethal partnerships in Premier League history or at least Pochettino and company would hope so.
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