On the vertical scale of popularity within the Tottenham Hotspur fanbase — stretching from Archie Gray at the pinnacle down to whomever you deem most accountable for their current position — Micky van de Ven, for the first time in his career, is nowhere near the top.
His descent from Europa League final saviour to his current status, viewed by some as symbolic of the blase attitude that has led to Tottenham being in a relegation scrap for the first time since the 1990s, is well documented. It started with the moment shared between him, Djed Spence and Thomas Frank after the 1-0 home defeat to Chelsea, with both defenders ignoring the then-head coach’s command to applaud the support and heading for the tunnel.
His last Premier League outing ended similarly. In a critical match for Tottenham’s survival hopes, Van de Ven was sent trudging off the pitch for a penalty-box foul on Ismaila Sarr in the 38th minute, his first red card for the club. With club captain Cristian Romero also unavailable due to suspension, Spurs collapsed with 10 men and were 3-1 down before half-time.
In their absence, Tottenham battled their way to an uplifting 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Sunday. Dropping Kevin Danso to make way for Van de Ven and Romero feels unfair and may prove unwise. On Sunday against Nottingham Forest, the club’s most important game since the Europa League final, characters like Danso are the ones you want to lean on.
But Igor Tudor will know Tottenham are a better team when Van de Ven plays well. He was the club’s player of the season in his first season, arguably the standout performer in Bilbao, and has already scored seven goals in all competitions this term, the best return of his career. For his part, he strongly rejected any suggestion that he or his team-mates had downed tools in a press conference before the Atletico Madrid Champions League tie on Tuesday, stating he will “always give 100 per cent to the club”. Right now, the club needs him more at left-back than in central defence.
Having stuck to the 3-4-2-1 system that brought initial success at Juventus and Marseille over his first four games at Tottenham, Tudor abandoned his customary formation for a 4-4-2 against Liverpool and Atletico, where Tottenham were much improved. It would make little sense to abandon a structure where Spurs found some defensive stability and attacking threat, having displayed neither in his previous games in charge. It’s expected Romero will come back into the side, and Danso’s credentials had long been established before being rubber-stamped against Liverpool. For Van de Ven, that may only leave left-back: a problem spot for Tottenham for over a year and the position he plays for the Netherlands.
Spence started the season excellently in that position, and by the time he had won his third England cap in October against Latvia, he looked like a player in line to travel with his national team to the World Cup this summer. Recently, however, his form has been patchier, and it seems unlikely he will make Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the March internationals. Without a left-footed wide forward, Tottenham have often looked imbalanced in attack when Spence plays, an unfortunate consequence of a defender occupying a role on his weaker side.
Destiny Udogie has transformed Spurs’ offensive threat from left back when fit and should be available for the squad on Sunday having made his return from the bench against Atletico, but it’ll be his first Premier League match since February 7. With just eight league starts this term, Tudor may be wise to allow Udogie the international break to return to full fitness — particularly with an alternative like Van de Ven available.
While he’s more established at left-back for his country, it’s not an entirely unfamiliar position at club level. Van de Ven started eight games across two seasons in the German Bundesliga for Wolfsburg, even registering an assist in a 2-2 draw against eventual champions Bayern Munich in the 2021-22 season. And in the final week of his first season at Tottenham, he started at left-back in a 2-0 loss to Manchester City and a 3-0 win against Sheffield United, having shifted into that position a few weeks before against Burnley, where he scored the winning goal.
With Tottenham pushing to score, Rodrigo Bentancur finds James Maddison between the Burnley lines. Van de Ven is positioned just behind him in a central area, and after Maddison receives it, turns and darts towards the Burnley defensive line, creating an angle to receive a pass.
Van de Ven receives it in his stride before shifting wide, opening his body and finishing past Arijanet Muric in the Burnley goal.
While Van de Ven may have more opportunity to display his finishing prowess at left-back, the most compelling reason for the positional shift is providing balance to the attack. Mathys Tel is most likely to play on the left wing on Sunday, having impressed since Tudor brought him back into the starting line-up. With Van de Ven’s world-class pace on the outside, defenders will have to pay extra attention to the flanks, allowing space for Tel to move inside and create or shoot from inside-left positions.
It could also facilitate Xavi Simons’ re-inclusion. He has not started in the league since the 2-1 away defeat to Fulham on March 1, Tudor’s first game in charge, but was outstanding on Tuesday against Atletico, scoring twice, and Tudor would be remiss to overlook his quality in the final third for the final eight games of the season. Simons often operates as a No 10 for the Netherlands but naturally drifts towards the left wing, where he links up with Cody Gakpo and Van de Ven. Like Tel, Gakpo tends to move into shooting positions in central areas, allowing Van de Ven to push high and wide, where Simons can find him with through passes.
Here’s a good example of this working in practice for the Netherlands, as Simons plays Van de Ven down the line, with the defender crossing to assist for Donyell Malen.
And another instance, with the pass coming from floating striker Memphis Depay. While it does not end in a goal, he does well to get to the ball and cross into a dangerous area.
Defensively, the positional shift should work to his greatest strengths. He is an excellent one-v-one defender with supreme recovery pace, and wide forwards will think twice before attacking him directly. It also adds another tall, athletic body in the box for set pieces, and Tudor will not want to discard a player who has proven effective from dead-ball situations.
So, despite the current disconnect between him and sections of the fanbase, Van de Ven will remain an important player and leader as Spurs enter the business end of the season. At least until Udogie reaches full fitness, left-back may be the position from where he can help the team most.