Despite some negative noise regarding attacking regressions, Tottenham Hotspur have made headway under Thomas Frank’s management, fifth in the Premier League and in a promising position in the Champions League group stage.
But Spurs could certainly do with a bit more fluency and impetus when on the charge, and such creases must be ironed out over the coming months to make this a season to remember.
It was always going to be difficult, selling Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in 2023, and Ange Postecoglou deserves credit for establishing an attractive, entertaining playing style (when things were going his way).
But it’s true that some members of the squad aren’t quite pulling their weight. That said, Tottenham do have some top talents who have the capacity to secure the club’s place at Europe’s elite table and lead Frank toward trophy-winning success.
Mohammed Kudus being chief among them.
Kudus' start to life at Spurs
There was an air of controversy about Kudus’ summer transfer to Tottenham. After all, the Ghanaian winger had plied his trade down the road at West Ham United for the past couple of years, and the sale has left the Irons fanbase feeling hot under the collar.
But West Ham’s loss is Tottenham’s gain, with the 25-year-old having registered five assists in the Premier League this season, more than any other player.
His pace and potency have seen him add a dimension to Frank’s outfit that Tottenham simply didn’t boast last term, and in this, he is offering shades of Kane, taking on the responsibility of leading the club forward, bringing a unique flavour to the table.
Kudus is indeed emerging as Tottenham’s new principal source of attacking inspiration, but there’s actually another member of Frank’s squad who’s looking somewhat Kane-esque.
Spurs' new version of Kane
We’re not talking about one of the Tottenham forwards here. Instead, it’s Micky van de Ven whose growth into a talismanic role down N17 is leaving him in line to take Kane’s leadership berth, belatedly.
The 24-year-old has been a revelation since joining from Wolfsburg for around £43m in 2023, with injuries his biggest weakness. So strong and fast and commanding, with journalist Sonny Snelling even labelling him as “world-class”.
It was the 6 foot 4 star’s injury that derailed the Ange hype train a few years ago, sending that project into a spin. Then, last season, hamstring injuries reigned supreme over the defender’s hopes of availability. He started only 12 Premier League fixtures all season, eight of which came across Spurs’ first nine fixtures of the campaign.
While Cristian Romero is Tottenham’s captain, Van de Ven is the perfect counterpoint and every bit as impressive. It’s perhaps important to remember that, like Kane, Van de Ven is not the skipper, with the Three Lions striker behind Hugo Lloris in that regard.
Of course, Kane and Micky van de Ven are hardly similar players. They are so different across physical and tactical bases as to be diametrically opposed.
But Van de Ven offers so much more than his central defensive role demands, and in this, he shares a likeness with Kane, whose range of passing and ability to drop deep and influence make him a very unique number nine, and with 23 goals from 17 games for Bayern this season, he’s still rather good at his primary job.
Tottenham have struggled to replace Kane since selling him to Bayern, but that’s more because of the 32-year-old’s remarkable, unique qualities. When he left, the Lilywhites didn’t only lose their record goalscorer, but their shrewdest playmaker and source of inspiration across so many years.
But his pace. Such speed. It’s astonishing, in many ways, and hard to define. In the Premier League this season, furthermore, Van de Ven has completed 92% of his passes and come out on top in 63% of his ground duels, as per Sofascore.
Micky van de Ven
Tottenham
37.38
Kyle Walker
Man City
37.31
Jackson Tchatchoua
Wolves
37.30
Micky van de Ven
Tottenham
37.23
Micky van de Ven
Tottenham
37.12
It tells much of the Dutchman’s athleticism that he is first, fourth, and fifth on the all-time speed rankings (beginning 2020/21), and is a further illustration of the above-and-beyond approach he brings to his centre-half role.
As per FBref, he also ranks among the top 1% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals scored per 90, emphasising an attacking threat that has been on full show this season, six goals from 16 matches in all competitions.
This is a top-class player, and one whose special skills will inevitably see a wave of interest in his signature before long, Europe’s heavyweights squabbling over his signature.
It is perhaps a given that Van de Ven will eventually move on. The lure of Real Madrid and Barcelona, outfits bound to have earmarked the Netherlands international among a list of loose long-term targets, may ultimately prove too much for him to ignore.
This could see him shape into the next version of Kane in more ways than one. But, whatever happens down the line, Van de Ven is a unique player who Tottenham must keep a grip on for as long as they can, for he will spearhead the Frank era toward a surface only scratched when Postecoglou defied the odds and lifted the Europa League title last season, Van de Ven playing that final and thriving.
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