Paul Robinson: Micky van de Ven signing shows Tottenham are listening to Ange Postecoglou
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…
Tottenham buying centre-back Micky Van de Ven for such a significant fee shows that the hierarchy are fully supporting Ange Postecoglou’s attempts to rebuild the club, according to Paul Robinson.
The central defender was bought to North London from Wolfsburg in a deal that makes him the joint-sixth most expensive signing in Tottenham’s history, with The Athletic reporting (8 August) that the Dutchman could cost up to £43million including add-ons.
In a clear statement of intent, the 22-year-old looks set to become a regular in the Spurs backline, making his debut in the 2-2 Premier League draw against Brentford on Sunday (13 August), and Daniel Levy and Postecoglou will hope he can make an impact that justifies his price tag.
Spurs have invested heavily in central defence over the last few transfer windows including paying just a hair under Van de Ven’s price for Cristian Romero last summer for £42.5million, while Joe Rodon’s £11million deal was not as successful.
But Postecoglou is being backed with the targets he desires, and such support from the hierarchy at the club will hopefully go a long way in helping Spurs have a successful season under the Aussie.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, Robinson praised Postecoglou for his use of his scouting network and claimed that this signing shows the intelligence that Spurs are now adopting.
He said: “The thing with Postecoglou, you’ve got to trust him. You look at the recruitment and his capability of working, not just the European transfer market, but the worldwide transfer market and his ability, the scouting network that he’s got his knowledge of football, his knowledge of players.
“This signing is the perfect example of that. He’s not a player that was maybe touted across Europe at the beginning of the transfer window, he wasn’t linked to many huge clubs.
“I think to some the transfer maybe came as a surprise, but this is one way you trust the manager, you trust his scouting network and I think you’d be really surprised.
“I think you’ll see him play the majority of the games this year.”
The former Celtic boss is bringing a fresh approach that Tottenham have not seen much in the past few years. The pragmatic tenures of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte are now in the past and Spurs fans will look ahead and feel hopeful of a more stable season under Postecoglou as they continue their search for a first major trophy since 2008.
However, Robinson notes that Postecoglou brings more than just shrewd signings, utilising a clever scouting network and bringing a calmness to proceedings. He has tipped the new boss to complete a culture change in North London with the players that are already there and by profiling the new recruits to ensure they fully buy the project.
“I think the manager is going to bring in players like that and he brings in players who will become part of what he’s trying to build,” Robinson added.
“Ange Postecoglou, from what I’ve seen of him, has a togetherness and he works on unity and he wants players who want to play for him. He’s certainly that.
“I think the fee with the fee they paid for Van de Ven, he is clearly a player that the manager wanted, that the manager sees fitting straight into his starting 11.
“You don’t pay fees like that for a player who potentially could come into the squad and might play a few games. The manager clearly likes him and sees him as a starter.“
Van de Ven will hope to partner Romero and form a solid title-challenging defence for Tottenham in the future. While it is still early, the club would not have invested such money if they did not buy into the Postecoglou revolution.
While Spurs tread carefully in their first season without the legendary Harry Kane, they can take comfort in the fact that, from the outside at least, everyone in the club is finally singing from the same hymn sheet.
In other Tottenham news, BBC Sport pundit Jermaine Jenas fumes at a decision given in Spurs’ clash against Brentford.