Vincent Janssen is fighting for his Tottenham future after Mauricio Pochettino admitted that the £18.5m summer signing had to “do more” in training if he wants to be involved in future.

Janssen did not even make the bench for Thursday’s 1-0 defeat at KAA Gent in the Europa League. He was not injured and travelled with the team. That decision raises serious questions about how Pochettino values Janssen and whether the Dutch striker has a long-term place in his plans.

Spurs go to Fulham on Sunday in the fifth round of the FA Cup, with Harry Kane likely to be rested are taking a knock on his knee on Thursday. In theory this could open the door to Janssen but Heung-Min Son is likelier to start up front. Pochettino, speaking after Thursday’s defeat, would give no guarantees that Janssen would be involved at Craven Cottage.

“Maybe,” said Pochettino, when asked if Janssen would play on Sunday. “Today he was out of the squad. He needs to show more, and we will see. Maybe he will have the opportunity to be on the bench or play [from the start]. Today we cannot be sure if he will be on the squad, on the bench or start from the beginning.”

Asked what exactly he meant by ‘show more’, Pochettino said that Janssen needed to be more convincing in training. “Performance is always about how the players show their quality, their belief on the training ground,” Pochettino explained. “When you select the starting eleven and the bench, I try to be fair. It's normal that maybe he needs to show more.”

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Thursday’s dropping of Janssen underlined the fact that Pochettino simply does not feel he can count on the 22-year-old right now. That was clear when Janssen did not even start in the FA Cup fourth round against Wycombe Wanderers. Pochettino explained that he was protecting Janssen and his fragile confidence.

Janssen did come on against Wycombe and scored a penalty, his fourth for Spurs. But the fact that, after nine starts and another 17 substitute appearances, he still has not scored from open play shows how much he is struggling.



In his last start, in the FA Cup third round against Aston Villa on 8 January, Janssen was hauled off after a difficult hour, and only after then did Spurs break Villa down.