Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham have an 'outstanding' talent in their ranks who's 'growing all the time'
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Tottenham Hotspur are preparing for their third Europa League group-stage match of the campaign, a home game against AZ Alkmaar.
Spurs made amends for their disappointing loss to Brighton before the international break by hammering West Ham 4-1 last weekend.
Now, Tottenham will fancy their chances of a positive result at N17 against the Eredivisie’s fourth-placed side from last season.
Ahead of the match, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou spoke highly about one of his players, saying he is “growing all the time” in wake of an “outstanding” 2023/24 campaign.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou hails Micky van de Ven
Postecoglou was asked some questions about Micky van de Ven, who was born in Alkmaar and came through the ranks in Dutch football.
The Tottenham boss praised Van de Ven’s trajectory since coming through the ranks at Volendam before moving to Germany’s Wolfsburg in 2021.
“With Micky, fair to say he developed late but very quickly,” he told football.london. “Because I think even at Volendam, there was a period when they were unsure about him.
“You could tell once physically he grew and the kind of player he was, his journey went very quickly at Volendam and the year he had in the Bundesliga he adjusted really well.
“For us last year he was outstanding in his first year in the Premier League. Obviously he had an injury which set him back a little bit but he’s growing all the time, maturing and I think he will become more of an influence at national team level.
“He’s now played a couple of games at left-back, left centre-back. The more he plays with the national team will give him even more belief but he’s going very well and I’m sure he’ll be an important member of our team but also the Dutch international team.”
Van de Ven a star in the making
Van de Ven has been a sensation for Tottenham, with his quality, physicality and speed all helping the Lilywhites go up a level.
When he’s unavailable, Spurs clearly suffer in his absence, which just goes to show how important he has become to Postecoglou’s side.
And at just 23 years of age, Van de Ven is nowhere near his prime as a defender, so it’ll be exciting to see how he continues to develop for Spurs and the Netherlands.
