“With Micky it’s a pretty significant one.”
Fans did not want to hear those remarks from Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou. Micky van de Ven pulled up with a hamstring injury just before halftime of Spurs’ eventual 4-1 loss to Chelsea on Monday. The North London team was collapsing, having already lost Cristian Romero to a red card approximately ten minutes earlier. Add Destiny Udogie’s second-half refereeing, and the defense is completely destroyed.
There isn’t a timestamp on Van de Ven’s spell out at the moment, even though Udogie will miss one game and Romero probably will miss three.Supporters, though, are fearing the worst. When Postecoglou took over the reins, it was well documented that the Australian would implement a high defensive line in a 4-3-3 setup so bringing in the right personnel was of the utmost importance.
Van van Ven was the center-back that Postecoglou requested, despite the fact that Spurs were linked to a number of defenders during the summer, including Edmond Tapsoba and Max Kilman. This was largely due to the Dutchman’s rate of recuperation.Van van Ven was the fastest defender in the Bundesliga last season; his much-watched last-ditch block for Wolfsburg against Union Berlin in the DFB-Pokal may have been the finest illustration of his blistering speed.
Fans have already seen the young player’s quickness on several occasions this season. In the most recent 2-0 victory over Fulham, Van van Ven trailed down Harry Wilson in the closing moments. The Dutchman was not the one to stop the Welshman’s shot, but Van de Ven’s pace forced the Cottagers player to cut to his left foot, giving the Spurs defense the opportunity to make up ground and eventually deny the 26-year-old. Emerson Royal stood firm to deny Wilson.
Now, though, Spurs will have to get by during a trial phase without their highly anticipated center-back acquisition from Wolfsburg. The north London side may have to pay a heavy price for this. Any team using a high defensive line needs center backs who can move quickly to make up ground in the event that opponents break the offside trap. Postecoglou allegedly insisted on pursuing Van de Ven’s services over other center-back targets primarily because of this.
The likes of Eric Dier and makeshift center-back Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who are expected to start against Wolves on Saturday, simply lack the physical strength to cover the yards that Van van Ven does, as demonstrated by the defeat to Chelsea. Given that Wolves has executed the most dribbles per game (13) in the Premier League thus far this year, Gary O’Neil undoubtedly has the players at his disposal to make the most of Spurs’ back-row absences.
But the Spurs won’t only experience the full effects of Van van Ven’s spell on the sidelines during Saturday’s trip to Molineux. A tough stretch of games, including matchups with Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Newcastle, lies ahead for Postecoglou’s team. Spurs will be destroyed if they play the high line against those three teams, but Romero will return from suspension to play against the latter.
And under Postecoglou, Van de Ven has proven to be an important player in more ways than just taking opponents off the ball and denying them. In fact, he is ranked third in terms of passes made out of 90 Spurs players who have played at least 300 minutes in the Premier League this season (66.8); the only player with a higher pass success rate in England’s top division this season (94.6%) is Thiago Silva (95.8%).
Spurs have attempted to control the game whenever possible, in sharp contrast to Antonio Conte’s reactive methods. This is demonstrated by their season-long 60.4% possession average, which ranks fifth in the Premier League. Van de Ven has reportedly been essential to Spurs’ offensive development this year. When supporters claim that Spurs have finally found Jan Vertonghen’s long-term replacement at the back, they are not kidding.
Hence, even if Van de Ven’s injury isn’t as serious as first thought, the Spurs will surely suffer if he is sidelined for an extended period of time. Postecoglou is unlikely to abandon his high-risk, high-reward style of play, which has resulted in 26 points from the season’s first 11 games.However, Van van Ven’s absence could undo a lot of the positive work Spurs have accomplished thus far, especially as they prepare to play teams near them in the standings. It’s a brutal blow that will probably cost Postecoglou’s team.
