Tanganga collects unique memento of Premier League debut

Japhet Tanganga has been presented with a commemorative Premier League Debut Ball to mark his first appearance in the top flight.

The 20-year-old defender, a product of our Academy, burst onto the Premier League stage on 11 January this year when Jose Mourinho thrust him into the side for the visit of table-topping Liverpool.

After a fine individual performance, he hasn’t looked back – he’s now up to six domestic starts, 11 across all four senior competitions, most recently making his Champions League debut in Tuesday night’s round of 16, second leg at RB Leipzig.

Japhet joins the likes of fellow Academy alumni Kyle Walker-Peters and Oliver Skipp in collecting one of the Premier League’s Commemorative Debut Balls after receiving his at Hotspur Way.

“I’ve been dreaming about making my Premier League debut since I started playing football and it’s amazing to receive this,” smiled Japhet.

“All the hard work that’s been put in from people around me and myself with the sacrifices, it’s an amazing reward.

“It was quite nerve-wracking before I made my debut. I actually found out on the Tuesday of that week that I was playing, so it was nerve-wracking leading into the game but on the Saturday, once I woke up and got to the stadium, I wasn’t nervous. It was a great challenge, it was tough but it was amazing as well.”