Tanganga came through the Tottenham Hotspur academy and made over 25 appearances for the club from 2019-2024. Early on in his career in north London, the English defender caught the eye of legendary Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho.

The former FC Augsburg loanee was thrown into the deep end for his Premier League debut, where he faced Liverpool, who fielded a plethora of star names, including attackers Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

But Jose Mourinho spoke in glowing terms when assessing his young defender’s performance.

What Mourinho had to say about Sheffield United’s new signing, Tanganga

“He played and he proved, he can play for us,” Mourinho said after the match against Liverpool in 2020.

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“I think Mane and Salah they know who Tanganga is, they didn’t know before the game. I think now they know, the kid was good.”

“The kid has reason to be very happy with his level, not with the result obviously, but with his first game in the Premier League. It couldn’t be a bigger one, and he did it amazingly.”

And later in that season, when discussing Tanganga alongside another Tottenham youngster, Oliver Skipp, Mourinho was full of praise.

“Tanganga’s already in the dressing room, with Skipp,” he said. “Both are fantastic kids – both kids in which we believe a lot.”

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What did Klopp say about Tanganga

Also speaking after Tanganga’s Premier League debut, Champions League and Premier League winning manager with Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, said: “I didn’t know about him, I was obviously surprised when he came up. He was good, impressive for sure.”

What Neil said about Tanganga this year

And his former manager at Millwall, Alex Neil, described him as the “ultimate professional” earlier this year.

“Japhet’s played every game he’s been available when I’ve been here,” Neil said. “He’s been ever-present. He’s a key member of our team. He knows what we can offer, he knows what we’re trying to do, he’s at the forefront of that.

“He’s the ultimate professional, Japh. After the game, he’s pretty much nearly always the last to leave. Him and Wes [Harding] go through the ritual that they’ve got in terms of recovery, the minute the game’s ended. He prepares as well as anybody.

“His performances throughout the games have been excellent.”

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