Micky van de Ven return ‘imminent’ at Tottenham, defender could make squad v Burnley in FA Cup
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou could be set for his biggest boost in months as Micky van de Ven now nears his return from injury.
Van de Ven, who joined Spurs from Wolfsburg during the summer in a deal worth an initial £34.5million (Sky Sports News, 8 August), made a fantastic start to his career in north London, quickly becoming a fan favourite.
Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, he suffered a serious hamstring injury in the 4-1 home defeat against Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 6 November, which has kept him sidelined since.
Before his injury against Chelsea, van de Ven demonstrated his superb quality in the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Friday 27 October, as he won six of his eight ground duels, completed 99 per cent of his passes and played nine accurate long balls forward (Sofascore).
The win at Selhurst Park was the last time the Dutch international completed a full 90 minutes, and it is safe to say that Spurs have missed the defender in his absence, conceding 16 goals in the nine matches they have played without him, compared to the 10 goals they conceded in their first 11 games of the season.
However, it now looks as if van de Ven could soon be available for selection again.
Reliable Tottenham-insider Paul O Keefe, who was recently credited by Fabrizio Romano via the Italian journalist’s official X account for his call on Hugo Lloris’ now-confirmed move to LAFC (28 December), has described the Dutchman’s return to the first team as “Imminent,” via his official X account (3 January).
O Keefe revealed that van de Ven could be included as soon as this Friday’s FA Cup third-round tie with Burnley at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (5 January), which could represent the perfect match for van de Ven to make his return in.
Vincent Kompany is likely to rotate with a Premier League relegation battle in mind, which could lead to a less intense encounter in north London than that of a Premier League clash, which would allow van de Ven to get some much-needed minutes under his belt without too much struggle.
If he can hit the heights he set earlier in the season straightaway, then Burnley could be in for a tricky night.
As per fbref, van de Ven ranks in the top ten per cent of centre-backs in the Premier League this season for the number of tackles he has made in the attacking third (0.19 per 90), with his high-pressing and intense defensive style crucial to Postecoglou’s vision of how he wants his teams to play.
What is equally as crucial is van de Ven’s ability on the ball, which helps Spurs to maintain and recycle possession. Van de Ven ranks in the top two per cent of his positional peers for the number of take-ons he has attempted this season (1.24 per 90) and the top six per cent for the number of those take-ons which have been successful (0.57 per 90).
However, what is arguably the most important part of van de Ven’s game is his speed and ability to recover, which allows Tottenham to play with a high line.
An example of this speed and recovery ability came during the north London derby at the Emirates earlier this season which ended 2-2 (24 September). As seen in the image above, van de Ven found himself in a footrace with Eddie Nketiah.
Nketiah knocked the ball forward as he looked to get past van de Ven, but the centre-back was able to keep up with the Arsenal striker.
Van de Ven made a perfectly timed challenge, preventing Nketiah from reaching Spurs’ penalty area.
He was then able to get back to his feet and bring the ball forward for the visitors.
It is that type of quality which Tottenham have been missing, and if Postecoglou can select the defender on Friday, he will consider himself a very lucky man and hope that his fortunes are beginning to turn around after an unlucky couple of months at Hotspur Way.
In other Tottenham news, one pre-agreed £12million Spurs signing is set for a loan spell in the Netherlands.