James Maddison has admitted that he had not heard of Micky van de Ven when Tottenham signed him last summer but revealed that the centre-back soon blew him away when he first saw him train.
It is fair to say that a lot of Spurs fans and Premier League fans in general were in a similar position to Maddison last summer as van de Ven was a relatively unknown quantity on these shores.
Some eyebrows were raised when Tottenham paid £43m to sign the centre-back from Wolfsburg last summer, with the defender having had just one season of regular football under his belt at the highest level with the Bundesliga side.
However, the Dutchman has proven to be a huge bargain for the Lilywhites, being voted the club’s Player of the Season despite missing almost three months of football through a hamstring injury.
Maddison revealed that he has not found a weakness in van de Ven’s game and that he had admitted to the defender that he had not heard of him before his move last summer.
Micky van de Ven has impressed James Maddison
The attacking midfielder told talkSPORT about the Dutch international: “He’s rapid, he’s rapid. I actually said to him as well when he came in, well not straightaway obviously, but after a little bit, when I realised how good he was and how fast.
“I said, ‘You know I’d never heard of you?’ I would never say that at the start obviously, but once I realised he was a top player, I couldn’t believe we had signed this centre-back that I was seeing.
“Because I was thinking, ‘Right well then, what’s his weakness?’ He’s good on the ball, he’s good in the air, he’s tall, he’s strong and he’s rapid.
“And I’m thinking, ‘Where’s the weakness then?’ To be fair I’m still looking, and I don’t want to get too carried away with him because… but I kind of love him and want to as well.
“He’s a top player and he’s a great lad as well, being a good person and a great lad in the changing room just makes you appreciate him as a player even more. He’s a top lad and he’s been a fantastic signing for us.
“Very disappointed that he had a big injury midway through the season because I think you would have been talking about someone who’s probably in the team of the year. But listen, he’s back fit now and he looks really good and I’m sure he’ll be an asset to Holland this summer [at Euro 2024].”
Spurs Web Opinion
The Tottenham recruitment department deserves a lot of credit for identifying van de Ven as someone who would thrive in the Premier League and in Postecoglou’s system as Wolfsburg’s demands were quite high, given the Dutchman’s relative lack of experience.
It’s fair to say that the Romero and van de Ven partnership looks to be the best we have seen since the days of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.