Yesterday saw the unveiling of Tottenham’s first signing of the January transfer window with Dutch international Arnaut Danjuma joining on loan from Villareal (more on that here).
Following Danjuma’s arrival, us here at VitalSpurs thought it would be worthwhile getting to know the player a bit more.
✍️ We are pleased to announce the signing of Arnaut Danjuma from Villarreal.
Welcome to Spurs, Arnaut! 💙
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 25, 2023
Danjuma’s early days
Despite playing for the Dutch national team, Danjuma was actually born in Lagos, Nigeria – to a Dutch father and a Nigerian mother. He did however sadly become briefly homeless as a child following his parents’ divorce and had to spend time in foster care.
Danjuma’s troubles in his early life seemed to spur him on when it came to his football career as when he turned 11, he joined the famous PSV academy – going on to spend eight years at the club.
The Dutchman would go on to take his first steps into senior football with NEC, then go on to play for sides such as Club Brugge and AFC Bournemouth before joining Villareal.
Where will Danjuma fight in at Spurs?
Quick, skilful and good in front of goal, the 25-year-old has spent most of his career playing off the left wing, regularly cutting in on his favoured right foot to unleash a shot. This means Danjuma will likely act as competition for Heung-Min Son, with the Dutchman likely to fancy his chances of breaking into the side with Sonny struggling so much this season (more on that here).
Danjuma however has also been known to play through the centre as a striker under managers such as Unai Emery – meaning he could also provide some much-needed cover for talisman Harry Kane.
VitalSpurs Opinion
I think this deal is a real coup for Spurs as Danjuma is a player of clear quality shown by his performances in Spain and in the Champions League. Also the fact the loan includes a non-mandatory buy option means if Danjuma does not impress in North London, Spurs can simply send him back to Villareal with no comebacks. The main plus in my eyes however is the fact Danjuma may provide Sonny a reality check and push the South Korean to do more, as at the moment Sonny is providing little to nothing on the pitch.