Tottenham fans should be seeing a lot more of Japhet Tanganga after the winter break following an impressive start to 2020.
Making his senior debut back in September in the Carabao Cup defeat at Colchester United, the next time he featured for the Lilywhites was in January after Jose Mourinho selected him for the crunch clash against runaway leaders Liverpool.
Tanganga didn't look out of place at all at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and he has continued to feature for the first team.
Traditionally a centre-back, the 20-year-old has played at left-back in recent weeks and he even kept Danny Rose out of the team before his loan move to Newcastle United.
Speaking to the club's official website about his rise to the first team, the defender opened up on his left-back role and playing for Mourinho.
"It’s been great, being able to play at this high level, but it’s also been very testing physically and mentally," he said.
"I hadn’t played left-back much before but honestly, these last few games that I’ve played have really helped my development, just understanding everything positioning-wise.
"I’m there to work, to do what the manager needs me to do and, to be honest, I’ll play anywhere. I’m happy to do the work for the team."
"This month has been a learning curve, but it’s been really good. You experience just how hard the players work and how hard you have to work – there’s not a moment in the game where you can switch off.
"That’s a difference from where I’ve gone from Under-23s football to first team football – I’m always focused, always concentrating because any slip-up and with the level of the players I’m playing against, they can get in at any time. It’s been very hard but very enjoyable as well."
Asked about if life in the first team is different to what he imagined it would be, he added: “At times it’s been different to what I expected because I thought maybe if I was playing on this stage I would have got nervous but I feel like I’ve been really calm.
"I haven’t been fazed by the opponents or the circumstances, I feel like I know what my game is, I know why the manager has put me in, he’s shown trust in me and he knows what I’m capable of doing so it’s just about sticking to my game.
"I feel like all the work I’ve been doing, it’s all for this moment right now and it’s just been great."
