Mauricio Pochettino reveals Vincent Janssen wanted to leave Tottenham after striker scores first Fenerbahce goal

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that striker Vincent Janssen wanted to leave the club over the summer.

The Dutchman, who scored just twice in the Premier League for Spurs after his move from AZ last summer, joined Fenerbahce on a season’s loan earlier this month, and scored his first goal for the Turkish side in their 4-1 win over Alanyaspor on Sunday.

When asked about the 23-year-old’s goal, Pochettino said: “I think it’s important for him [to score] because always all the players struggle in their first season in England.

“When you come from Netherlands it’s a different level of competition and in the end he wanted to leave and he decided to go to Turkey, and we wish him all the best and we are happy if he scored last night. It was really good for him, to try to build again his confidence.”

Janssen was well behind Harry Kane in the pecking order at White Hart Lane last season, and with Fernando Llorente making the move to Spurs on deadline day would have found game time even harder to come by this term.

“Here he sometimes played, sometimes didn’t play,” Pochettino added.