Royal Antwerp are in Barcelona ahead of a huge match against the Catalan giants this evening. Naturally, given the size of the task ahead of the Belgian club, and the illustrious nature of their opponents, there’s been a lot of coverage ahead of the game.
Two of Royal Antwerp’s senior players, Toby Alderweireld and Vincent Janssen, have Tottenham Hotspur connections.
The striker has given a lengthy interview to Belgian newspaper HLN, and it’s no surprise that Spurs came up during the chat.
Janssen moved to Tottenham from AZ in 2016, and was always going to struggle for minutes given the competition ahead of him.
Mauricio Pochettino had personally picked out the signing, but the Dutchman was unfortunately unable to find himself a place at the club.
Whilst in Mexico, Janssen won the league, cup and also the CONCACAF Champions League.
He moved to Royal Antwerp in summer 2022, and last season won both the league and cup, a very successful campaign which secured Champions League qualification.
Asked why he struggled at Tottenham, Janssen told HLN: “I have to feel good to perform well. That was not one hundred percent the case at my previous clubs. Due to a lack of confidence and rhythm. I was not the undisputed number nine, so it was not my best years. Certainly not.”
That was never likely going to be the case with Harry Kane at Spurs, but now at 29-years-of-age the player has a bag of trophies and is today preparing for one of the biggest matches of his life.
Hopefully that new-found confidence can produce something special against Barcelona this evening.
