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The Evening Standard reports that Mauricio Pochettino has told Vincent Janssen that he will be included in Spurs' Premier League squad, despite having not made an appearance for the Lilywhites since August 2017 - a year-and-a-half ago. Is Poch getting desperate amid an injury crisis?

What's been said?

Well, The Evening Standard understands that Pochettino told the striker in a meeting last Friday lunchtime that, despite the intention for the Dutchman to be included in a January exodus, that he will be included in the league squad, having failed to secure a move elsewhere last month.

China and Russia remain the only possible destinations for the former AZ Alkmaar hitman - the transfer window doesn't close until the end of February there - although Spurs do not expect Janssen to move to either.

The 24-year-old spent last season on loan at Fenerbahce, where he scored four goals in 16 league appearances - has Poch become desperate as Harry Kane and Dele Alli are sidelined through injury?

Hanging in there

The club's failure to sign Michy Batshuayi from Chelsea may come back to haunt them if their current lack of depth up front costs them their recently improved chances of winning the title, and Pochettino's decision to add £17m flop Janssen to the squad shows how thin he feels his options really are.

The Argentine may even find himself regretting the decision to loan out Kazaiah Sterling to Sunderland if Janssen is to be his back-up to Fernando Llorente. Will Janssen feature next time out in order to give Llorente a break ahead of Spurs' clash with Dortmund next Wednesday?

Son Heung-Min is capable of playing up front and has excelled there in the past but, beyond Llorente, Janssen is the only orthodox striker available for selection and that should concern Spurs fans, who will be counting down the days until Kane returns from his ankle injury.

The England captain sustained ligament damage in his side's loss to Manchester United in January and could be out until March, by which point Spurs could easily have dropped out of the title race and have exited the Champions League.

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin may be out for the season but it's given him a chance to show off his new accessory. Check out the video below to see for yourself...