England youth international Japhet Tanganga is a powerful right-sided centre-half.

A staple of our Development Squad's defence in recent years, he made 25 appearances in all competitions at that level in 2018/19, including three against senior Football League sides in the EFL Trophy, and was captain for much of the second half of the Premier League 2 season. Having made his senior debut in a first team pre-season friendly match away to Girona in August, 2018, he impressed in further pre-season outings in July, 2019, against Juventus, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter.

Japhet made his senior competitive debut with a start in our Carabao Cup third round tie at Colchester United in September, 2019, before coming into the side for his Premier League debut in a home match against Liverpool on 11 January, 2020.

Born and raised in Hackney, Japhet attended Greig City Academy and joined our youth set-up at the age of 10. He has developed an excellent ability to leap high in the air and uses this to his advantage when he ventures forward for corners.

A regular with our Under-16s in 2014/15, he made the step up to Under-18s football in a 3-0 win over Norwich City in November, 2014. He played four league games at that level and also featured in our FA Youth Cup fourth round win over Wolves during that campaign.

The 2015/16 season saw him play 15 games at Under-18 level in the league, plus two in the FA Youth Cup, and make his Under-21s debut with a start at left-back against FC Schalke 04 in the Premier League Under-21 International Cup in November, 2015. He stepped off the bench against Southampton for his league debut at that level the following month.