Japhet Tanganga

Japhet Tanganga
Tanganga with Millwall in 2025
Personal information
Full name Japhet Manzambi Tanganga[1]
Date of birth (1999-03-31) 31 March 1999[2]
Place of birth Hackney, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)[3]
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 Sheffield United
Number 5
Youth career
2009–2019 Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2024 Tottenham Hotspur 27 (0)
2023–2024 → FC Augsburg (loan) 0 (0)
2024 → Millwall (loan) 18 (2)
2024–2025 Millwall 42 (2)
2025– Sheffield United 43 (1)
International career
2014–2015 England U16 3 (0)
2016 England U17 4 (0)
2016–2017 England U18 6 (0)
2017–2018 England U19 11 (1)
2017–2019 England U20 10 (0)
2021 England U21 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 August 2026 (UTC)

Japhet Manzambi Tanganga (born 31 March 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for and captains EFL Championship club Sheffield United.

Early life

Tanganga was born in Hackney, Greater London,[4] to a Congolese family.[5] He attended Greig City Academy and joined the Tottenham Hotspur youth academy at the age of 10.[6]

Club career

Tottenham Hotspur

Tanganga with Tottenham Hotspur in 2020.

In June 2019, Tanganga extended his contract with Tottenham until 2020.[7] On 24 September 2019, he made his debut in the EFL Cup, in an away match to Colchester United.[8] Tanganga made his full Premier League debut on 11 January 2020, in a 1–0 home defeat against Liverpool.[9] Three days later he played the entire 90 minutes in an FA Cup replay against Middlesbrough, which Spurs won 2–1, and was named man of the match.[10]

On 27 July 2020, Tanganga signed a new contract with Tottenham, extending his contract until 2025.[11] However, he suffered from a series of injuries and, aside from a EFL Cup game against Chelsea in September, he did not play any games from March 2020 when League football was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic until 26 November 2020, in a UEFA Europa League match against Ludogorets Razgrad.[12][13][14] Following his return, he made only a few appearances for the remainder of the season.

On 16 August 2021, Tanganga started Tottenham's first game of the 2021–22 season, and was named man of the match in a 1–0 victory against Manchester City.[15] In a September Premier League game away at Crystal Palace, he was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession while the score was 0–0. Tottenham eventually lost 3–0.[16]

Tanganga was ruled out for the remainder of the 2021–22 season after he suffered a knee injury on 24 January 2022 in a 2–0 loss to Chelsea.[17] He made 19 appearances that season, 11 of which were in the league.

Tanganga was released by Tottenham at the end of the 2023–24 season.[18][19]

Loan to Augsburg

On 1 September, Tanganga joined Bundesliga club Augsburg on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy.[20] However, he did not make any appearances for Augsburg, sitting on the bench only once during his time there.[21] He returned to Tottenham in January 2024.[22]

Loan to Millwall

On 18 January 2024, Tanganga joined Millwall on loan until the end of the season.[23]

Millwall

On 10 July 2024, Tanganga joined Millwall on a permanent long-term contract.[24] He was named as the club's Player of the Year for the 2024–25.[25]

Sheffield United

On 28 August 2025, Tanganga joined fellow Championship club Sheffield United on a three-year deal for a significant undisclosed fee,[26] reported to be in the region of £7 million with up to a further £3 million in add-ons.[27] On 1 January 2026, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 victory over Leicester City.[28]

Tanganga received a straight red card during a fixture against Charlton Athletic for a dangerous aerial challenge. The red card was appealed by Sheffield United but the appeal was ultimately denied a few days later. "Tanganga red card appeal rejected by FA".

International career

Tanganga has represented England at various youth levels at under-16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 teams.[6]

In 2014, Tanganga represented the England under-16 team against Scotland in the Victory Shield.[29] In 2017, he took part in the Toulon Tournament, coming on as a second-half substitute in the final as England defeated Ivory Coast to retain their title.[30]

Tanganga also played at the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and scored in their opening group game against Turkey.[31]

Although eligible to represent the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanganga stated in May 2020 that he intended to pursue an international career with England, saying: "In life you have to have goals and one of my goals is to be capped at senior level for England".[32]

On 2 October 2020, Tanganga received his first call-up to the England Under-21 squad [33] but withdrew on 5 October 2020 due to injury.[13][34] Tanganga eventually made his debut for the U21 side in the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, starting in a 2-0 group stage defeat to Portugal on 28 March 2021.[35]

Style of play

Tanganga is a versatile defender, comfortable both as a central defender and as a right back. He describes his approach as "aggressive," saying that "great players their talent can really hurt you. So my strategy is to make sure I get after him. Don't give him any time, don't give him the opportunity to get the head up and pass because he has the quality to do that."[36]

Career statistics

As of match played 22 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tottenham Hotspur U23 2017–18[37] —————2[a]020
2018–19[38] —————3[a]030
Total ————5050
Tottenham Hotspur 2019–20[39] Premier League 6030101[b]0—110
2020–21[40] Premier League 6020203[c]0—130
2021–22[41] Premier League 11010403[d]0—190
2022–23[42] Premier League 4020001[b]0—70
2023–24[43] Premier League 00000000—00
Total 270807080—500
FC Augsburg (loan) 2023–24[43] Bundesliga 000000——00
Millwall (loan) 2023–24[43] Championship 1820000——182
Millwall 2024–25[44] Championship 4023000——432
2025–26[45] Championship 200000——20
Millwall Total 60430000000634
Sheffield United 2025–26[45] Championship 4010000—00401
2026–27[46] Championship 200010—0030
Total 42100100000431
Career total 12951108080501615
  1. 1 2 Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. 1 2 Appearance in UEFA Champions League
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur

England U20

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League clubs publish 2019/20 retained lists". Premier League. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  2. ↑ "Japhet Tanganga: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  3. ↑ "Japhet Tanganga: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "Japhet Tanganga". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  5. ↑ Eccleshare, Charlie (11 January 2020). "Mourinho's new boy Tanganga: an old-fashioned, pacy defender..." The Athletic.
  6. 1 2 "Japhet Tanganga profile". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "Player update". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Stanton, John (24 September 2019). "Colchester United 0 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  9. ↑ McNulty, Phil (11 January 2020). "Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  10. ↑ Emons, Michael (15 January 2020). "Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Middlesbrough, FA Cup third-round replay". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  11. ↑ "Next step, next challenge for Japhet". Tottenham Hotspur. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  12. ↑ McGrath, Mike (15 June 2020). "Exclusive: Japhet Tanganga ruled out of Tottenham's restart with back injury". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  13. 1 2 Davies, Matt (5 October 2020). "Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga withdraws from maiden England U21 squad with injury". The Evening Standard.
  14. ↑ "You don't have a chance': Ludogorets coach raves about Tottenham after 4-0 loss". HITC. 27 November 2020.
  15. ↑ "Tottenham 1-0 Man City: Heung-Min Son strike secures statement win for Spurs". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Sutcliffe, Steve (11 September 2021). "Crystal Palace 3 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  17. ↑ "Season over for Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga after knee surgery". 18 March 2022.
  18. ↑ "Player update". Tottenham Hotspur. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  19. ↑ Onyeagwara, Nnamdi (5 June 2024). "Tottenham confirm Sessegnon, Dier, Perisic and Tanganga departures". The Athletic. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  20. ↑ "Japhet Tanganga kommt auf Leihbasis zum FCA" [Japhet Tanganga comes to FCA on loan]. www.fcaugsburg.de (in German). 1 September 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  21. ↑ "England - J. Tanganga - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  22. ↑ "Tanganga returns from loan".
  23. ↑ "Millwall confirm Japhet Tanganga signing". www.millwallfc.co.uk. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  24. ↑ "Japhet Tanganga signs for Millwall". www.millwallfc.co.uk. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  25. 1 2 "Japhet Tanganga wins 2024/25 MSC Player of the Year award". www.millwallfc.co.uk. 22 April 2025. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  26. ↑ "Japhet arrives". www.sufc.co.uk. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  27. ↑ Hall, Danny (28 August 2025). "Japhet Tanganga explains Sheffield United transfer decision as ex-Millwall man signs Blades deal". The Star. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  28. ↑ "Sheffield United 3-1 Leicester City: Blades overcome Foxes". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  29. ↑ Bradbury, Jamie (20 November 2014). "England U16s see off Scotland in Victory Shield encounter". The Football Association. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  30. 1 2 "Spot on young Lions hold their nerve to retain Toulon tournament title". Football Association. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  31. ↑ "England beat Turkey 3-2 in European Under-19 Championship opener". BBC Sport. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  32. ↑ "Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga sets his sights on England call-up when football resumes".
  33. ↑ "ENGLAND MU21S SQUAD TO FACE ANDORRA AND TURKEY NAMED". The Football Association. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  34. ↑ "BRANDON WILLIAMS, RHYS WILLIAMS AND SAM SURRIDGE JOIN MU21S AS FOUR WITHDRAW". The Football Association. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  35. ↑ "YOUNG LIONS SUFFER SECOND CONSECUTIVE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP DEFEAT AGAINST PORTUGAL". The Football Association. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  36. ↑ Wallace, Sam (21 August 2021). "Japhet Tanganga interview: Spurs' homegrown star on his 'aggressive' approach and staying at the top". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  37. ↑ "Games played by Japhet Tanganga in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  38. ↑ "Games played by Japhet Tanganga in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  39. ↑ "Games played by Japhet Tanganga in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  40. ↑ "Games played by Japhet Tanganga in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  41. ↑ "Games played by Japhet Tanganga in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  42. ↑ "Games played by Japhet Tanganga in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  43. 1 2 3 "Games played by Japhet Tanganga in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  44. ↑ "Games played by Japhet Tanganga in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  45. 1 2 "Games played by Japhet Tanganga in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  46. ↑ Cite error: The named reference JT26 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  47. ↑ McNulty, Phil (25 April 2021). "Manchester City 1–0 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
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