Tottenham Hotspur have made positive strides from last season and they have Ange Postecoglou to thank.
Yes, he isn’t going to be happy with recent results and performances. But Tottenham are far better off than they were 12 months ago.
When Harry Kane departed, and that days before the season started, many feared the worst, including a certain Paul Merson.
But Spurs are now playing a better style of football, they have progressed up the Premier League table and have made a return to Europe.
One of the key reasons behind the club moving forward is the summer transfer business.
Postecoglou has been pretty ruthless in some of the calls he has made, including booting out Eric Dier, who proceeded to help Bayern Munich reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.
But the reason why Dier was booted out was because of a certain Micky van de Ven.
The quickest player in the Premier League, he has made huge strides in his debut campaign and Michael Owen thinks he has been one of the signings of the season.
The former England striker also added that van de Ven is the ‘future of the club’ and he is ‘surprised’ that nobody else was looking at him in the summer, as he told Premier League Productions (14/05/24 at 7:25 pm).
In today’s modern game, defenders have to defend a lot of open space because more teams are playing attacking football.
But, as Owen pointed out, Spurs are on a much higher level because they ask their backline to do ridiculous things, yet someone like van de Ven takes it on and does with ease.
Micky van de Ven, the future of Tottenham Hotspur
“I am surprised they had very little competition in getting his signature,” said Owen. “Definitely (one of the signings of the season).
“He’s almost the future of the club as well, isn’t he?! It’s amazing. When you are fast, it’s great to be able to show everybody. It’s the way Tottenham play as well that enables him to show off that pace. A lot of the time, he is left one-v-one to chase these balls down and those that go over the top.
“It’s interesting looking at things like this (on van de Ven topping the speed charts). Seeing what other fast players there are. He is in the top two (fastest speeds recorded). When his legs get going, it’s very, very difficult to stop. I always think the speed on the football pitch is little darting runs. Ten yards and 20 yards. But Tottenham play such a high line that his running stats are over 30-40 meters. He really gets his legs going. You can understand why he is top and second on that speed list. I would love to see him in a race with Kyle Walker.”
Tottenham Hotspur need defensive cover
Tottenham’s current backline – Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, van de Ven and Destiny Udogie – will and should start the first game of next season.
But what’s behind them is a big worry. Spurs signed Radu Dragusin in January, but it’s fair to say that he is yet to settle in.
READ MORE: ‘A very big story…’ Michael Owen reacts to what he’s hearing out of Tottenham Hotspur
That’s fine because a pre-season will do him wonders, but more faces are needed.
If any of the backline were to get injured, then you fear about how the team can operate in this expansive system Postecoglou wants them to play in.
That has been evident on many occasions this season and, with European football returning, depth is needed more than ever.
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