Tottenham: Gary Lineker blown away by what ‘brilliant’ Micky van de Ven did v Nottingham Forest
Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou managed to climb back into the top four of the Premier League with an impressive 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
An own goal from Murillo partnered with second-half strikes from Micky Van de Ven and Pedro Porro helped Postecoglou’s side pick up a vital three points on Saturday (6 April) to return to the Champions League places.
While Porro’s effort was impressive, it was Van de Ven’s thunderbolt which stole the majority of the plaudits as the Dutch centre-half fired past Matz Sels early in the second half from the edge of the penalty area.
Gary Lineker was quick to praise the strike via X (7 April) saying: “Couple of sweet strikes from Van der Ven and Porro. Lovely stuff.”
However, Scott Minto was just as impressed by the defender’s work out of possession. Speaking on talkSPORT on Sunday (7 April, 18:27) he said: “Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. It was almost Des Walker like the way he just opened his legs up and said you’re not beating me for pace.”
Will Tottenham be able to keep Micky Van de Ven in the summer transfer window?
Barring Forest’s first-half strike, it was almost the perfect performance from Van de Ven as he impressed at both ends of the field. The 22-year-old’s strike came from an xG of only 0.05 and was a hit a centre forward would be proud of, according to Fotmob.
In possession, the Spurs defender was almost faultless, completing 94 per cent of 71 attempted passes, 10 of which found a teammate in white in the final third as he played a huge part in Tottenham’s attacking exploits.
Five of those attempted efforts looked to find a teammate over a long range and once again Van de Ven was in fine form, completing 80 per cent of his passes over distance.
Few players in the Premier League are as consistent with the ball at their feet in the Premier League. When compared to his positional peers, Van de Ven sits in the 99th percentile for pass completion percentage, with an average of 95.3 per cent, according to Fbref.
Out of possession, the 22-year-old was incredibly strong, winning 100 per cent of his three ground duels and making an exceptional six ball recoveries to prevent the away side’s attack from impacting proceedings in the second half.
In the air, the Dutchman won 60 per cent of his five attempted battles, ultimately meaning he won more duels overall than any other player for either side.
Van de Ven places in the top 10 per cent of top-flight centre-backs for tackles made in the defensive third of the pitch, averaging 1.33 challenges a game.
Overall, the Spurs centre-back places in the 88th percentile of defenders for tackles won per 90 minutes. It is not ridiculous to suggest that he is now one of the Premier League’s best defenders.
Will Spurs and Ange qualify for the Champions League?
While Postecoglou insists he isn’t worried about qualifying for the Champions League, Sunday’s win is a huge step in the right direction for Spurs and a lot of that is down to Van de Ven.
Hopefully, he will be a Tottenham player for years to come as he has been a revelation in North London, but you’d imagine other teams will be keeping tabs on him and a few other stars in Postecoglou’s ranks.
In other Tottenham news, Spurs have been urged to cut ties with Timo Werner after a new update emerged from Fabrizio Romano
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