Vincent Janssen

Vincent Petrus Anna Sebastiaan Janssen (born 15 June 1994) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Belgian Pro League club Antwerp.

He began his professional career in the Eerste Divisie with Almere City before playing in the Eredivisie with AZ Alkmaar in 2015–16, finishing as the league's top scorer. He then moved to Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League for a fee of £17 million, spending his second season on loan at Fenerbahçe in the Turkish Süper Lig. He spent three years in Liga MX with Monterrey, winning honours including the CONCACAF Champions League in 2021. He signed for Royal Antwerp in 2022, and won the Belgian Cup in his first season while scoring in the final.

Janssen earned 22 caps for the Netherlands between 2016 and 2022, scoring seven goals. He was part of their squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Janssen started playing at the amateur branch of TOP, after which he became part of the youth academy of the professional branch of the club. Through a merger of the TOP and N.E.C. academies, he became part of the academy of NEC. From NEC, he transferred to Feyenoord youth teams, winning the U19s national title with Feyenoord in 2013.

After being released by Feyenoord, he joined Eerste Divisie team Almere City in 2013. He made his debut for Almere on 3 August 2013 in a 3–2 home defeat against Volendam. After netting ten goals in the 2013–14 season, he reached 19 goals the following season. He scored 32 goals in 74 appearances in all competitions for Almere.

After two seasons with Almere, Janssen moved to Eredivisie side AZ in 2015, signing a contract with the club until 2019. He was signed by director Robert Eenhoorn, a Dutch former Major League Baseball player who signed based on data, following the example of his friend and advisor Billy Beane; due to financial constraints, Eenhorn signed Janssen and fellow second division player Alireza Jahanbakhsh for under £1 million and sold them for a combined £33 million.

Janssen scored his first official goal for the club against İstanbul Başakşehir in a UEFA Europa League qualifier on 30 July 2015. His first goal in the Eredivisie was on 4 October 2015, where he scored the first and second goal in a 3–1 home win against Twente. After failing to score in his first eight matches for the club, he went on to score 20 league goals in the second half of the season – the first player to achieve this feat in 52 years – and became the top scorer of the Eredivisie with a total of 27 goals. This also made him the youngest player to score more than 25 goals in an Eredivisie season since Ronaldo in the 1994–95 season. His first hat-trick for AZ was on 24 January 2016, in a 4–2 home win against former club Feyenoord. He also scored four goals in a 5–1 home win against PEC Zwolle on 16 April 2016. He was awarded the 2016 Johan Cruyff Trophy, the Dutch "Talent of the Year" award.

On 12 July 2016, Janssen joined Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for £17 million (€20 million) on a four-year contract. Manager Mauricio Pochettino had seen Janssen during a Netherlands friendly with the Republic of Ireland, saying Janssen "ticked all the boxes we needed". With his signing, he became the most expensive player sold by AZ Alkmaar in their football history.