JAPHET'S JOURNEY

Exclusive interview with defender JAPHET TANGANGA who, just over a year since he was thrust into the spotlight against Liverpool, talks to us about that daunting league debut and how he has adapted over the last 12 months

- Paul Miles

Japhet Tanganga doesn’t want to be defined by his Premier League debut against Liverpool, instead he wants it to be the starting point of a long journey.

Having said that, it’s there, and there are constant reminders of the day just over a year ago that this youngster from Hackney, then 20, stepped out in front of 62,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a worldwide audience of millions and embraced the challenge of facing one of the world’s best strikeforces.

“It came up on my phone’s photo memory!” Japhet told us, breaking into laughter. “One year ago. I’ll never forget it though. Next year, I’ll think about it again. It’s where everything really started for me. Of course, Colchester was my debut, a tough night, but Liverpool, my Premier League debut against the champions elect, that was phenomenal.”

A year older, a year wiser, the date of 11 January, 2020 was a game changer for the youngster who joined our Academy full-time back in July, 2015. He went on to play 10 times in 2019/20, signed a new contract in July and is now fully integrated into the first team squad.

“Yes, life has changed a lot, a lot, since then,” he reasoned. “The reaction has been great. I’ll go out to a supermarket, do a bit of food shopping, just go about my business and Spurs fans, when they recognise me, they’ll come up and greet me, and that’s a nice feeling. It’s always good to meet people and say ‘hello’ and everyone just wants me to do well.