Tottenham Hotspur striker Vincent Janssen to join Fenerbahce on loan

It looks as though the Vincent Janssen era at Tottenham Hotspur is about to come to an end. Multiple sources are reporting that the Dutch international striker and his ample posterior is set to join Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce on a season-long loan. Today is transfer deadline day for Turkish clubs, and they are apparently taking full advantage.

Tottenham Hotspur have not made any announcement about Janssen’s departure. Fenerbahce issued the following statement, announcing a “deal in principle:”

Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and Dutch national team forward striker Vincent Janssen has had a physical, and our club has agreed in principle to loan him.

Vincent Janssen's health check was conducted at the Liv Hospital in Ulus. In the medical, cardiology, ear-nose-throat, orthopedics, general surgery, internal medicine and eye examinations were performed. Cardiovascular and radiological tests such as eco, effort, respiratory function test were also applied during the football health checks.

Vincent Janssen is expected to participate in training that will take place at Fenerbahçe Can Bartu Facilities in the evening.

See how EXCITED he looks?

Considering all the news about Janssen that’s come out since the end of the transfer window and subsequent international break, this is pretty unsurprising. Janssen reportedly turned down both a sale to West Bromwich Albion and a loan to Brighton & Hove Albion in the waning hours of the transfer window, and was told in no uncertain terms that he no longer has a future with Tottenham Hotspur. If Janssen wants to maintain his status as the starting striker for the Netherlands, he needed to go SOMEWHERE where he can play regular football. Looks like it’s Turkey.

At Fenerbahce, he will be joining up with another former Tottenham striker who never lived up to expectations, Roberto Soldado. Also on the Fener squad are Robin Van Persie, Martin Skrtel, and Mathieu Valbuena, a veritable who’s-who of players-that-at-one-time-were-referred-to-as-good. Fener finished third in the Super Lig last season, but were knocked out of the Europa League in the qualification stages, losing 4-1 on aggregate to Macedonian side FK Vardar.

I can’t help but feel disappointed that Janssen wasn’t given more than a year to prove that he has a future in this Tottenham side, particularly in that he provided a very different option to Harry Kane. Pochettino obviously saw something different that we did not, and decided that he preferred 32-year old Fernando Llorente to any possibility that the 24-year old Janssen might eventually come good. But who knows, maybe he’ll bang in 30 goals in Turkey and we’ll decide to give him another look. Stranger things have happened (but not much).

Alas. Fare you well, Thicc Vin jokes, we barely used you.

UPDATE (Friday, 11:42 a.m. ET): It’s official, as announced by Spurs’ Twitter account.