Thomas Frank makes an admission over Micky van de Ven’s reliance on his pace

Thomas Frank has handed out praise to Micky van de Ven, while also highlighting one element of his game that needs refining.

Tottenham Hotspur have improved defensively when compared to last season, where they finished with a negative goal difference and ended 17th in the Premier League.

The prolonged absence of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven played a role in the poor defensive showing from Tottenham last term, given that both were sidelined for long stretches.

This season, the pair have been available for a decent amount of games, although Romero has already had minor injuries.

Thomas Frank highlights one flaw in Micky van de Ven’s game

Van de Ven has been the star of the show this season, with the Dutchman proving effective in both boxes.

He has scored six goals so far in all competitions, the most of any player at the club, with goals coming from both set plays and open play.

The defender’s pace is his greatest asset, but Frank believes he is sometimes over-reliant on it, and while speaking to TNT Sports, he explained why he sees Van de Ven as a complete defender but also highlighted the one issue he wants the centre back to address.

Thomas Frank said, “I think when you are a quick player, sometimes you can rely a little bit too much on your pace.

“I think he works a lot on his position in the box, which I think is crucial, because as a defender, one thing is to be physical and quick and all that but also the best defenders, for me, they do what I call cool, composed defending, so they are not hectic, they are just waiting, waiting, waiting, boom, boom, block and now we intercept. I think that is key.

“He is obviously fantastic on the ball and can drive forward with a beautiful left foot. He can play short in behind and also, this year, he has added the set piece threat, which I think again, the complete defender needs to do that.”

Micky Van de Ven’s fitness is crucial for Spurs

While Van de Ven continues to improve, Thomas Frank will be hoping the Dutchman can stay fit for the entirety of this season.

The pacy centre-back ranks in the top three for players to have played the most minutes for Spurs this campaign, with only Guglielmo Vicario and Pedro Porro playing more minutes, which shows how crucial he is for Frank.

However, it will be a concern given his injury record, because since moving to north London, he has not had a season without being injured, and if Tottenham are to avoid a repeat, his game time will need to be reduced.

Radu Dragusin has taken a positive step towards match fitness after playing in a behind-closed-doors match against Leyton Orient and could return soon to the Spurs XI.

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