Tottenham release Champions League group stage squad, omit Janssen, Lamela

Tottenham Hotspur released their primary squad that is eligible to participate in the 2017-18 Champions League group stages, starting with the match against Dortmund at Wembley Stadium on September 13. Notably, Erik Lamela and Vincent Janssen both failed to make Spurs’ group stage Champions League roster.

First, here’s the list of Tottenham’s “List A” squad.

Keepers

• Hugo Lloris
• Michel Vorm
• Paulo Gazzaniga

Defenders

• Kieran Trippier
• Danny Rose
• Toby Alderweireld
• Jan Vertonghen
• Davinson Sanchez
• Juan Foyth
• Serge Aurier
• Ben Davies

Midfielders

• Victor Wanyama
• Georges-Kevin N’Koudou
• Eric Dier
• Moussa Sissoko
• Mousa Dembele
• Dele Alli
• Christian Eriksen

Forwards

• Son Heung-Min
• Harry Kane
• Fernando Llorente

Now, the explanation. Clubs that play in the Champions League actually submit two lists of players for registration. “List A” is comprised of a max of 25 players. Two of them have to be keepers, and eight spots are reserved for “club trained players,” defined as players trained by the club for three years between the ages of 15-21, or who were on another club’s roster in the same association for three years in the same period. You can’t have more than 4 association-trained players on List A.

“List B” can be filled with players who are 21 or under and who have been at the club for at least two years. There’s no limit to the number of players who can be on this list. Players from List B can feature for a club in the Champions League match so long as they register him a day before the match.

So as stated before, the biggest omissions from Spurs’ List A are Erik Lamela and Vincent Janssen. Sharp-eyed readers might also note Harry Winks’ omission, but Winksy has the potential to be added in later, as he is 21 and is most assuredly registered on List B.

But why Lamela or Janssen? The answer comes via Dan Kilpatrick of ESPN.

Well, that makes a little more sense. Lamela being left off is a bummer for him personally, but he’s also the most likely to get cut in this circumstance — he’s still on the long-term injury list and won’t even return to full training until next month at the earliest. If he does come back, he’ll feature in the Premier League, and that’s fine.

With Janssen, his omission can probably be laid at the feet of selling Kyle Walker, who was a “club-trained player” replaced with Serge Aurier, a player from outside of the federation. That reduces the number of players that Spurs are able to register, and means that Thicc Vin is out. Janssen’s omission still feels like a bit of a slap to the face, though. The implication is that he is now the fourth-best striker on Tottenham Hotspur’s roster, and it’s hard not to wonder if his non-selection has anything to do with retribution for not accepting a loan in the waning hours of the summer transfer window.