Nemanja Vidic has suggested that he has been really impressed by one Tottenham Hotspur player this season and thinks that he has the potential to improve considerably.
It has been a promising year for Ange Postecoglou’s side in the Premier League, with Spurs leading the way in the early stages of the campaign and still finding themselves with an outside chance of qualifying for the Champions League next year.
Tottenham look to have serious potential, with Heung-min Son four years older than any of his teammates who started against Burnley on Saturday.
Their winner against the Clarets came from an unlikely source, with Micky van de Ven doing brilliantly to find the bottom corner late in the game.
Nemanja Vidic lauds Micky van de Ven
Van de Ven has been a revelation in his first year in the Premier League. It is well-known that he has the pace to compete with any striker in the division, but he is also clearly capable of making an impact at the other end of the pitch.
So it is probably not a huge surprise that Nemanja Vidic picked out van de Ven as one of the current defenders who has really impressed him, in an interview with The Times.
“I like talking about the young ones,” he said. “Micky van de Ven. He’s fast, strong and good in the air, and has capabilities to really improve. The two from Arsenal [William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes] are doing well. Watching them, I feel they like defending and want the clean sheet. I like the mentality they show.”
Masterstroke from Tottenham
It appeared to be a gamble when Tottenham spent an initial £34.5 million to sign van de Ven from Wolfsburg last summer, particularly when it was apparent that Postecoglou’s centre-backs were going to take so many risks.
He was also being paired with Cristian Romero, who, like many of his teammates, had a really poor campaign last year. So it was asking a lot of van de Ven to expect him to hit the ground running in North London.
But van de Ven has done exactly that. In fact, it is remarkable to think that he only turned 23 last month as he appears to be so comfortable in the Premier League.
It is no wonder that Vidic is excited for his future.