Tottenham were just joking about signing a striker

Spurs fans have eagerly been awaiting an official announcement that the club have signed Dutch hotshot Vincent Janssen.

Wait no longer, faithful Lilywhites, as it doesn’t look like you’re going to get one any time soon.

Numerous reports would have had us believe that the AZ Alkmaar forward, who scored 27 goals in the Eredivisie last season, was due to arrive at White Hart Lane imminently.

Now, thanks to AZ’s sporting director Max Huiberts, we have a much clearer picture.

Tottenham were just kidding about signing a striker. First they did it with Michy Batshuayi, who they were definitely signing (until he went to Chelsea), and now Janssen’s the latest butt of the joke that absolutely no Spurs fans will find remotely funny.

“We once received a bid from Tottenham Hotspur that we have not accepted. Then we heard nothing more.”

That’s what Huiberts told Dutch paper Noordhollands Dagblad, and he seemed just as bewildered as everybody else.

On the white and blue side of north London, there’s a bit of an obsession with being like Arsenal. Build a new stadium? Check. Collapse in the title race? Check. Get all worked up about signing a striker and then letting everyone’s hopes down? They’re working on it.

In true Wenger-esque style, Mauricio Pochettino has been promising fans he won’t just rely on Harry Kane for the third season in a row. Last year, he even went to the lengths of pretending Clinton N’Jie was a striker, before more discerning, internet-savvy fans looked him up and found out he’s actually a midfielder. And all that’s completely irrelevant because he never actually plays anyway.

N'jie to be our striker Messiah. You heard it here first.😏

— Kev07 (@kevski07) July 1, 2016

Janssen would have been the perfect player to complement Kane, so Pochettino needs to make sure the deal can be resurrected.

If not, at least Kane’s been in the form of his life this summer with England. Get it together and cough up the money, Spurs.