It would be fair to say that, so far, this season has not gone to plan for Tottenham Hotspur.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have faced several problems this year, and while a sometimes wasteful frontline and inconsistent midfield are undoubtedly some of them, the most pressing issue has been the number of injuries they’ve had to deal with in the backline.
So, it wasn’t all that surprising to see the club go into the market last month and sign Antonín Kinský from Slavia Prague and Kevin Danso from RC Lens, although given the extent of their injuries, some would argue that wasn’t enough.
That must’ve been an opinion held by the club, as on deadline day, they made an attempt to sign a number of other defenders, including Axel Disasi, and while they failed, they can rest easy knowing that they already have a defensive stalwart worth millions more than the Frenchman.
Tottenham's defensive search
The objective coming into January was relatively straightforward for Daniel Levy and Co: sign at least one centre-back.
They achieved that with the signing of Danso on a short-term loan with an obligation to buy for around £20.9m, and while the Swiss international’s arrival is undoubtedly a welcome one, there is a feeling from some that it might not be enough.
It could be argued that the club feel similarly, as even after the deal was announced, links to other prominent defenders began appearing, the most notable being Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.
According to the BBC, the North Londoners made an astounding £70m bid for the Englishman, which the Eagles rejected on deadline day, and while he would have been an incredible addition to the Lilywhites squad, they made the understandable decision not to increase their offer this window.
However, the 24-year-old wasn’t the only London-based centre-back Spurs were interested in, as according to a report from the Daily Mail, the North Londoners reignited their interest in Chelsea’s Disasi on Monday.
The story claimed that Levy and Co were keen to bring the Frenchman to N17 on loan despite the player initially rejecting them just a few days earlier.
Unfortunately, as we now know, nothing came from Tottenham’s renewed interest in the 26-year-old, whom Football Transfers values at up to €39m, which is about £32m, and he ended up moving to Aston Villa.
However, while missing out on another defender is far from ideal for Postecoglou, he can at least rest easily, knowing he already has a player worth millions more in that position.
The Spurs star worth millions more than Disasi
So, while there are a couple of defenders who fit the bill, the Spurs ace we are talking about is none other than Micky van de Ven.
The Dutch international joined the North Londoners from VfL Wolfsburg for £43m during Postecoglou’s first summer and has gone from strength to strength and, according to Football Transfers, is now worth up to €68m, which is about £57m, or £25m more than Disasi.
Now, that’s certainly a lot of money, especially for a defender who has endured his fair share of injury setbacks in the last year and a half, but it just shows how good he is when he’s playing.
The 24-year-old titan has been described as a “complete & dominant” defender by talent scout Jacek Kulig, and while that sounds like awfully high praise, it’s more than backed up by his underlying numbers.
For example, according to FBref, which compares players in similar positions across the Premier League, he sits in the top 1% of centre-backs for assists and ball recoveries, the top 2% for medium passes completed, expected assists and goal-creating actions from live passes, the top 4% for carries and more, all per 90.
Assists
0.23
Top 1%
Expected Assisted Goals
0.14
Top 1%
Ball Recoveries
6.17
Top 1%
Medium Passes Completed
42.14
Top 2%
Expected Assists
0.08
Top 2%
GCAs from Live Passes
0.23
Top 2%
Goals plus Assists
0.23
Top 4%
Carries
57.56
Top 4%
Goal-Creating Actions (GCA)
0.23
Top 7%
Progressive Passes
4.91
Top 11%
On top of that, the Wormer-born monster is outrageously fast, setting a Premier League record for the fastest sprint speed when he reached 37.38km/h against Brentford last January, which is also why he is such an essential part of Posetcoglou’s ultra attacking style of play.
Ultimately, bringing Disasi in on deadline day would have certainly helped to alleviate some of the pressure on Spurs’ injury-prone backline.
However, with Van de Ven in the squad, the club already have one of the best defenders in the league.
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