The current Tottenham Hotspur squad is packed full of unforgettable names like Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Hugo Lloris.
These three and more will go down in Spurs history as some of the best and most memorable players to play at White Hart Lane and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
But not every player that dons the white shirt and navy-blue shorts has gone on to reach the heights of these modern-day greats. In fact, there have been plenty of Spurs players who most supporters have completely forgotten about.
From one-season flops to young players who failed to kick on, to expensive signings who promised much and delivered a lot less, Spurs have had their share of forgettable players, some of whom only recently left north London.
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With all that said, football.london takes a look at nine players you had probably forgotten played for Spurs and where they are now.
Kevin-Prince Boateng
The older brother of World Cup winner Jerome Boateng, Spurs fought off Sevilla to sign a very young Kevin-Prince Boateng in 2007, with big things expected of the then 20-year-old.
While obviously talented, it just didn’t work out for Boateng in North London and the attacking midfielder departed White Hart Lane two years, 25 appearances and no goals later.
The very definition of a European journeyman, the attacking midfielder’s extensive list of clubs include Borussia Dortmund, Portsmouth, AC Milan (where he was named in the 2011 Serie A Team of the Season), Besiktas and, most bizarrely of all, a six-month loan spell at Barcelona.
The Ghanaian is currently contracted to Hertha Berlin, the club where he started his long career.
Fraizer Campbell
On deadline day 2008, Spurs agreed to sell Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United, but with no time left to sign a replacement, they insisted that United youngster Fraizer Campbell move the other way on loan.
They needn’t have bothered, as Campbell would only play 10 times in the Premier League for Spurs, scoring just once.
The one-time England international has remained an ever-present in the Premier League and Championship ever since, taking in spells at Sunderland, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace, Hull City and Huddersfield Town, where he currently plays.
Pau Lopez
The inclusion of Pau Lopez on this list may be a little contentious, given that the Spanish shot-stopper never actually got on the pitch for Spurs.
Lopez was part of the Espanyol set-up whilst Mauricio Pochettino was in charge and when the Argentine’s new team needed another goalkeeper, he raided his former club, signing Lopez on loan for the 2016/17 season.
But as third-choice keeper behind Lloris and Michel Vorm, Lopez returned to Spain without a single Spurs’ appearance to his name.
Still only 26-years-old, he moved on loan again this season from Roma to Olympique Marseille.
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Deandre Yedlin
When people think of Deandre Yedlin, Sunderland and Newcastle United are the teams that come to mind, with the right-back one of the few players to line-up for both Tyne-Wear derby clubs, alongside fellow former Spurs defender Danny Rose.
But the American international did make one appearance for Spurs at the tail-end of 2014/15 season.
After coming through the ranks at Seattle Sounders, Yedlin signed a four-year deal with Spurs in 2014, but after that one solitary appearance he was loaned out to the Black Cats for a year, before getting shipped out to the Magpies permanently.
He remained at St. James Park until February of this year, when he finally departed for Galatasaray.
Georges-Kevin Nkoudou
Three very promising seasons in France with Nantes and Marseille, were enough to convince Spurs to splash £9.9 million on Georges-Kevin Nkoudou in 2016.
Georges-Kevin Nkoudou never made it big at Tottenham
Sadly, the quick and dynamic winger arrived just as Pochettino turned the Lilywhites into genuine title challengers, and as such he found it near-impossible to break into a front-line that already featured the likes of Kane, Son and Christian Eriksen.
Brief loan spells at Burnley and Monaco did very little to improve his game-time and confidence, so in 2019 Spurs cut their losses, selling Nkoudou to Besiktas for just £4 million.
He left the club having scored just once in 27 appearances.
Clinton N’jie
As part of the deal to sign Nkoudou from Marseille, Spurs agreed to loan Clinton N’Jie to Les Olympiens, a move that ended the forward’s short and not-so-sweet time at White Hart Lane.
N’Jie had made headlines as part of a prolific Lyon frontline alongside Nabil Fekir and Alexandre Lacazette, but he never got going in England, enduring an injury ridden season that ended with no league starts and no goals.
He would sign permanently for Marseille and since 2019 has plied his trade for Dynamo Moscow, but the now 28-year-old has never lived up to the lofty expectations that were once set for him.
He has however had more success on the international stage, winning the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon.
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Benjamin Stambouli
Pochettino took charge of Spurs in the summer of 2014 and in that transfer window he signed several players who are still part of the first team today, namely Ben Davies, Eric Dier and Dele Alli.
Benjamin Stambouli on the other hand lasted just one season, despite actually playing quite well in his limited appearances.
The French centre-back/defensive midfielder would start just four Premier League games but was a key player in Spurs’ run to the 2015 League Cup final, although he did not feature in the club’s eventual 2-0 loss to Chelsea at Wembley.
He left Spurs for Paris Saint-Germain, winning five domestic trophies with the French giants, but would also last only a single season there, moving onto Schalke, before joining Turkish Super Lig side Adana Demirspor at the start of this campaign.
Vincent Janssen
Spurs supporters who had forgotten Vincent Janssen probably wish it would stay that way as the Dutchman is without question one of the worst players ever to don a Spurs shirt.
Buying from the Dutch Eredivisie is risky business, as while you may land a world-class star like Eriksen, you’re equally as likely to end up with an expensive flop like Janssen.
27 goals in 34 league appearances for AZ, convinced the club to splash £17 million on the striker, who, in theory, would be the perfect back-up option to relive the goalscoring burden off Kane.
But he netted just six goals in the 2016/17 season, four of which came from the penalty spot, before getting shipped out to Fenerbahce on loan.
A lengthy spell on the sidelines with a foot injury saw Janssen miss nearly the entire 2018/19 season, before he departed for good to Mexican club Monterrey.
Meanwhile, Spurs are still looking for that perfect back-up striker.
Zeki Fryers
Left-back Zeki Fryers was once an extremely highly rated young player who Spurs spent many months trying to sign from Manchester United.
After the two clubs failed to agree on a compensation package for the player, he left for Standard Liege before finally ending up at White Hart Lane in January 2013.
But for all the hype and controversy around the transfer, Fryers would last just 18 months in north London, making 16 unspectacular appearances under Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood, before heading south of the river to Crystal Palace.
Sadly, Fryers has never been able to break into any team at any level, working his way down the divisions, through spells at Barnsley and Swindon Town, to his current club Stockport County in the National League.
https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/players/boateng-campbell-nkoudou-tottenham-spurs-22566019
