Former Premier League midfielder Craig Burley has suggested that Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven will be Tottenham Hotspur’s two most important players this season.
While Tottenham possess the likes of Son Heung-min and James Maddison, Burley thinks Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are going to be the key for the north London club because of Ange Postecoglou’s tactics.
Speaking on ESPN, the ex-Chelsea player said: “The most important players, it would seem in this system, are probably going to be the two centre-backs because they’re going to get left man for man quite a lot.”
Postecoglou started with a central defensive partnership of Romero and Van de Ven for the 2-2 draw with Brentford last weekend.
Tottenham paid £85m for Romero and Van de Ven in total, with the former costing £42m and the latter £43m.
Tottenham’s first-choice centre-backs
It remains to be seen whether Romero and Van de Ven become Postecoglou’s two most important players, but they are certainly going to have key roles for Tottenham this season.
The early signs suggest that the Argentine and Dutchman will be the preferred central defensive pairing, which is not a surprise given how much money Spurs have spent to sign them.
It is bad news for Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez, with the former currently being linked to multiple clubs.
He did not make the matchday squad for the game at the Gtech Community Stadium and a move away from north London now looks very possible.
According to 90min, Dier is attracting interest from AS Monaco, Crystal Palace and Celtic and could depart the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the transfer window closes.
With Romero and Van de Ven being a new partnership, Tottenham may face some issues at the back during this early part of the season. Competing in such a competitive league, though, Postecoglou cannot wait for them to gel forever.
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