A TOTTENHAM PLAYER SCORES HIS FIRST GOAL EVER ON LOAN AS THE 56-GAME WAIT ENDS.
After just five minutes of Millwall vs Southampton in the Championship, Premier League loanee Japhet Tanganga, a defender for Tottenham Hotspur, finally scored his first senior goal of the season.
The 24-year-old defender’s last goal came in a UEFA Youth League match in 2017–18 while Tottenham Hotspur’s reserves were playing Real Madrid.
Japhet Tanganga would have had extremely long odds to open the score in Millwall’s home game against promotion-chasing Southampton on Saturday afternoon. With only five minutes remaining, Tanganga took advantage of a dubious save from Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu to drive home a set-piece.
With this, he has finally achieved his first-ever senior football strike after a lengthy wait—this is his 56th senior appearance.
Technically, Tanganga, the former England under-21 international who was born in Hackney, is still a Tottenham player. But it remains to be seen if he ever plays for the London giants once more.
With just over a year left on his deal, Tanganga, who was formerly a consistent member of the Spurs squad under Jose Mourinho and (temporarily) Nuno Espirito Santo, is out of contract.
Tanganga, who did not play in the Bundesliga during the first half of the current season while on loan at Augsburg, admitted to having “my fair share of injuries, or times when I’ve not been playing in my career” to Sky Sports earlier in February.
“But playing football is the main reason you become a player. It means a lot to me that you enjoy the game. for both my own health and well-being.
Tanganga has moved from the grandeur of playing for players like Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho to the reeds and nettles of the Championship. Following Joe Edwards’ dismissal, Millwall, who rehired club legend Neil Harris a few days prior, are very much fighting for survival.
“Working under top managers at my age was undoubtedly every young player’s dream,” Tanganga continued.
Tanganga is currently exerting every effort to make sure that his first game as Harris’s head coach is a victory. Conte, (Mauricio) Pochettino, Mourinho, and Nuno are all managers who have excelled in the game. Having the opportunity to learn from them at such an early age was the best thing I could have asked for.
