Ange Postecoglou says 22-year-old Tottenham man has ‘got a real presence about him’

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has had his say on why his side were so keen to sign Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg this summer.

Spurs’ priority was very clear going into the transfer window – they needed two new centre-backs. However, their first three signings were a goalkeeper, an attacking midfielder and a winger.

Postecoglou remained desperate for a new defender and he finally got his wish with Van de Ven this week. The Spurs boss raved about him in his press conference yesterday, as quoted by Football London.

Ange Postecoglou explains why Tottenham signed Micky van de Ven

Tottenham announced the signing of Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg in a £43 million deal this week. (BBC)

The Dutchman was one of the most impressive defenders in the Bundesliga last season. He’s rapid, good on the ball and has excellent physical capabilities.

That makes him a good fit for the Premier League, and Postecoglou revealed that he has had his eye on Van de Ven for quite some time now.

The new Tottenham boss lauded the 22-year-old for his physicality and ambitions before claiming he feels Van de Ven will be an ‘excellent defender’ for the club.

He said: “Micky van de Ven – we’ve been on to for a while. Just a great profile for a centre-back particularly for the way we want to play. Physically he’s quite commanding and he’s got a real presence about him. He’s a left-sided centre-back which helps in the structure of the team.

“Really ambitious young man. He’s only had a year in the Bundesliga. He was at Volendam before that. It’s not like he was at a big club before that. He’s making strides and hopefully, this jump is another one with which we see him really develop.

“For us, he’s one not just for this year but for the long term that we felt can become a really important part of our team and will be a really excellent defender for us.”

TBR View:

Micky van de Ven has all the qualities to be a huge success at Tottenham.

The Dutchman is 6ft 4in tall but is absolutely rapid. He was the fastest player in the Bundesliga last season, which is just incredible considering how big he is.

To add to his pace, Van de Ven is very good on the ball too. He’s a huge upgrade on someone like Eric Dier, and he’ll likely be the main man in defence this season alongside Cristian Romero.

It will be interesting to see how Van de Ven will fare if Postecoglou gives him the nod to start at Brentford this Sunday.