On loan Millwall defender Japhet Tanganga wants to build on his successful loan with the club as he returns to his parent club Tottenham Hotspur, where he’ll be looking to return to the first team.
Having struggled during his first loan spell of the season with Bundesliga side Augsburg, where he didn’t make a single appearance, Tanganga enjoyed a positive second half of the season on loan with Millwall.
The 25-year-old would make 18 appearances during his spell with the Championship outfit, 17 of those being starts and looks to have got his career back on track. He’d originally join the club under former boss Joe Edwards but was firmly in new man Neil Harris’ plans when the former player returned to manage in February.
Harris’ return coincided with a huge shift in the Lions’ fortunes and he’d steer them to safety with games to spare, something which didn’t look likely under Edwards. Included in that was a five match winning to end the season which certainly bodes well for the future.
Tanganga was present throughout and despite getting sent off late on in their final day clash with Swansea City that hardly overshadowed his time with the club.
With the season now over, the centre-back will be pushing for a spot in Ange Postecoglu’s matchday squad and his loan spell will certainly aid his case.
Speaking to football.london, Tanganga would fondly look back on his time with the club and now wants to really kick on after a successful loan.
“Yes, I am looking forward to working with Ange. Before I came out on loan to Germany, I was welcomed by him in pre-season and obviously I saw his ideas and did like them. Everyone can see that he’s very attack-minded, likes to keep the ball, and he’s doing well, so I’m looking forward to seeing his ideas and being a part of it.”
“My focus is to build on from my spell at Millwall, with the number of games I played. You want to be in a position where you’re playing week in, week out, so whether that’s at Spurs or somewhere else, that is something that needs to be discussed in the future and we’ll see where we go from there.”
“It’s been very important to have a consistent run of games because when you’re not fit, you start doubting yourself, so not only for others to see that I can play consistently, but also for myself. With the injuries you start doubting yourself and start thinking, can I play as regularly without my body breaking down?
“But thankfully, that hasn’t happened, and I’ve shown that I can do it, I just needed time for my body to adjust, and for me to learn my body. Now, hopefully I can kick on and play more than I’ve played at Millwall – maybe its 30 games in a season or 40 games in a season.”
Writer’s View
Poor recent defensive showings at Tottenham could open the door for a return for Tanganga and he’s certainly given himself a chance of being in the squad next season after a good loan spell with the Lions.
The fact that he mentions ‘somewhere else’ next season could well mean that he is in the plans at the club though and another loan or even permanent move could be on the cards. Having got his career back on track, that could well be to Premier League and he’ll be expected to further improve next year.
As for the Lions, it is a loss but good recruitment will help them in the summer. After a special end to the season they’re definitely a team to watch out for under Harris next year and could well challenge in the top half.
