Tottenham Hotspur have been told they've got a gem in their squad with "world-class potential", with speed "never seen" from a player in his position.
Spurs form under Ange Postecoglou
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou is now an English top flight record-holder. Indeed, following the Lilywhites' 2-0 home win over Fulham on Monday, the Australian has now overseen the best ever start made by a new manager in the Premier League; guiding Tottenham to seven league wins out of a possible nine while remaining unbeaten. It's been truly remarkable considering they lost star striker and all-time record goalscorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window, with a few players in particular now shining under Postecoglou's tutelage.
Son Heung-min and summer signing James Maddison, as displayed by their latest heroics against Fulham, have formed a deadly partnership going forward. The former is now rediscovering the kind of form which saw him share the 2022 Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah, while the latter is proving one of football's biggest bargains this year.
Both Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are also starring at the heart of Postecoglou's defence, with former Spurs striker Mido recently admitting he's been shocked by the Dutchman's form.
“I understand the idea of Ange [Postecoglou] that he wants a left-footed centre-back to start from the back and to have a better angle to see the whole of the pitch playing the ball between the lines and the diagonals," said Mido to talkSPORT.
"But defensively, I was really worried that this guy would struggle in the Premier League. I know in the Premier League that you always play against big guys up front and the likes of [Erling] Haaland and [Ivan] Toney, all the big guys, it’s very difficult to defend. It’s not like the Dutch league, it’s different, it could be a shock for him. But to be honest to the lad, he’s been brilliant."
Micky van de Ven news
Like Maddison, the 22-year-old gem is proving one of the summer window's best buys thus far, especially given Spurs chairman Daniel Levy paid just £43 million to prise him away from Wolfsburg. The Dutchman suits Postecoglou's free-flowing, attack-minded system as a pacy, assured and ball-playing defender.
Now, former head of Ajax talent development Ruben Jongkid has joined in on the praise for Van de Ven; revealing how the player's potential was first spotted long ago while overseeing his development at Dutch second tier side Voldendam. Speaking to inews, the coach insisted that Spurs have a player with "world-class potential" and "never seen" speed for a defender. Jongkid, going one step further, suggested that he is even better than Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni.
“His athletic ability and speed, I’ve never seen that for a centre-back or defender,” said Jongkid.“This is world-class potential so don’t come with €1.5m when [Alessandro] Bastoni [Inter’s left-footed centre-back who Spurs targeted last year] who probably has less talent already went for €31m."It will be interesting to see how van de Ven grows as a Tottenham player, but it's safe to say he's made the best possible start.