Micky van de Ven reveals watching Tottenham legend Jan Vertonghen helped improve his game
Speaking on the Premier League’s YouTube channel, defender Micky van de Ven has revealed that he used to watch videos of Tottenham Hotspur legend Jan Vertonghen playing to try and improve his own game.
Ahh, it’s been a while since we heard of Vertonghen. The 36-year-old along with Toby Alderweireld were the mainstays in the Tottenham defence for so long and a crucial part of the project under then-manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Let’s not forget – the Belgian is still going strong at 36, playing his football for Anderlecht after spending a few seasons at Benfica. The streets will not forget how good he was in his prime and he was very underrated despite showing a lot of quality.
“I like to prove people wrong”
Micky van de Ven is determined to help Tottenham prove their doubters wrong following an impressive start to the season pic.twitter.com/J0CMBDUlhR
— Tottenham News (@Spurs_fl) September 28, 2023
Ever since the exit of these two stalwarts in defence, Tottenham have struggled in that area. Yes, Cristian Romero is one person who has looked like a star in the making ever since he came in and has lived up to the hype.
His partner was always an issue for all the managers before Ange Postecoglou. Most of them virtually played a joker card in Eric Dier, who is not a natural centre-back but he was the best of what we had back then.
This season though, things are different. Enter, Micky van de Ven. What a signing the Dutchman is turning out to be! Rapid, physically dominant and defensively, he is proving to be an absolute monster.
Jan Vertonghen was a defensive colossus for Tottenham Hotspur (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Speaking about improving his game, the talented defender spoke about being a big fan of Vertonghen and having watched his videos.
“I was always in the stadium with my Dad when Ajax were playing. We went to every game and Jan was always playing. He was a left-footed centre-back. I’m a left-footed centre-back. I always looked up to him and saw his qualities on the pitch. Afterwards, I watched some videos of him and that helped me a lot”
Understandably, the question arises. Is Micky van de Ven the next Jan Vertonghen for Tottenham? The ideal answer to this would be going by his initial promise, he is going to carve an identity out for himself here.
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Tottenham cannot be happier with the start to life that Van de Ven has made to the Premier League. Adaptation issues don’t seem to be a concept he understands. Let’s just hope this continues for a long time.
