With international break, Tottenham Hotspur faithful will have to watch their Spurs representatives playing their trade for their respective nations for the next fortnight or so, and one of the players that the supporters will be keeping a keen eye on is Micky van de Ven.
The Dutch defender has had his fair share of injury concerns, and the Lilywhites fans would be hoping for none of those in the upcoming couple of weeks.
While they keep an eye on him, the player is expected to partner Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Netherlands defence, and van de Ven has expressed his enthusiasm to partner with VVD.
Van de Ven excited to partner with Van Dijk
Micky is one of the most highly regarded young centre backs in the world, and he has been reciprocating this tag with his performances for Tottenham in the past couple seasons. And in a recent interview with ESPN, the former Wolfsburg star spoke highly of his countryman, calling him a “fantastic defender.”
Moreover, while the 23-year-old prefers to play in the middle of the defence, Micky did acknowledge his openness to playing in other positions for his country if needed. With the likes of Nathan Ake and Jurrien Timber missing from the Holland squad, the Spurs defender might be called upon to play wide rather than his preferred central role.
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In an interview with ESPN, he said:
“I’ll let the coach decide if he wants to do that. We’ll have to see. Virgil is a fantastic defender, so I wouldn’t mind playing alongside him.
“I can play in both positions. You can fill in for yourself. I prefer to play the central defender. But that’s logical when you look at the games I played for Tottenham and Wolfsburg.
“Nathan is injured, and Jurrien is injured. I can also play the left back, so that’s not a problem.”
It will be some learning for Micky van de Ven to feature alongside Van Dijk, as it will give him an opportunity to learn from a veteran who has been on top of the game for a long time. This could prove to be instrumental in Van de Ven’s growth.
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Tottenham supporters will keep a close eye on Micky’s performances, be it centrally or out wide, with hope that he not only showcases his talent and takes notes to improve but also returns to the N17 injury-free.
