Glenn Hoddle has said that Micky van de Ven is among the top central defenders across the Premier League along with his compatriot Virgil van Dijk.
It is fair to say that Van de Ven’s arrival at Spurs from Wolfsburg last summer was not met with huge fanfare, with the Dutchman being quite an unknown quantity at the time, having had just one good season in the Bundesliga.
In fact, some Tottenham fans were even critical of the club for pursuing what they felt was a cheaper option to Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba.
However, fast forward eight months and not a single Spurs fan would swap Van de Ven for any other centre-back in world football. Such has been the impact of the 22-year-old, who looks made for the Premier League and for Ange Postecoglou’s system.
The Netherlands international’s brilliant turn of pace allows Tottenham to play a high line without any worries about being caught out by balls in behind while the centre-back also has shades of Jan Vertonghen in the way he strides out from the back with the ball.
Micky Van de Ven is already highly rated in England
Hoddle admitted that he is a huge fan of Van de Ven, insisting that the Spurs star is up there with Van Dijk as the best in English football.
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The Tottenham legend said on Chris Cowlin YouTube channel: “Obviously is there are good players available and you can get them, I mean look at Van de Ven coming to the club.
“He’s obviously a bit injured at the moment but he looks as if, for me, if he didn’t get injured at the beginning of the season, he would be in most players’ Premier League side.
“He and the guy at Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk, they’re the best two in the country. Funnily enough, they’re both Dutch, so he’s a find he is. If we get a few more like that in different positions and a couple of wide-men, then we aren’t far off it.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The only thing that can stop Van de Ven from becoming one of the best centre-backs in the world is injuries.
The centre-back has already had a number of hamstring injuries in his short career and I am concerned that it might be a bit of a recurring theme throughout his career.
It is not natural for someone of his physical stature to have such explosive acceleration, with his sprints putting a lot of pressure on his hamstrings.
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