Rio Ferdinand has admitted that he has been blown away by Micky van de Ven whenever he has watched the Tottenham man live this season.
While Van de Ven had shown plenty of promise in the Bundesliga last season, it is fair to say that some eyebrows would have been raised when Tottenham paid £43m to sign him from Wolfsburg in the summer.
In fact, it appeared like even many Spurs fans preferred Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapspoba over the Dutchman but the 22-year-old has hardly put a foot wrong since arriving in North London.
Not only has Van de Ven proven to be extremely composed and solid defensively but he has been excellent on the ball, with some fans seeing shades of Jan Vertonghen in him.
One area where he is far superior to Vertonghen is in raw pace, with the new Spurs signing demonstrating excellent acceleration to sweep in behind Tottenham’s high backline whenever a ball is played over the top.
LUTON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 07: Micky van de Ven of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Luton Town and Tottenham Hotspur at Kenilworth Road on October 07, 2023 in Luton, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)
Micky Van de Ven gets the Ferdinand seal of approval
Ferdinand is convinced that Van de Ven is indeed the real deal, admitting that he is surprised by how quickly the Netherlands international has adapted to the Premier League.
The former Man Utd defender told YouTube channel: “Romero and Micky van de Ven are arguably the best pairing at the moment in central defence in the Premier League on form. They’ve been immense.
“This Micky van de Ven, bro, he is the real deal. He’s the real deal. I saw his debut the other day for Holland. I’ve seen him right up close twice this season. And he looks supremely comfortable for a young centre-back that’s come into a new league. So watch this space for this kid.”
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Ferdinand certainly knows a thing are two about what attributes centre-halves need to succeed in the English top flight and these are major words of praise from the 44-year-old for Van de Ven.
As the Man Utd legend points out, the most eye-catching thing about the Dutchman is the fact that he has settled in seamlessly into the Premier League, with the increased pace and intensity of the competition not bothering him the slightest.
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