Recent Tottenham Hotspur signing Micky van de Ven plays like someone a lot more experienced than he actually is, according to Paul Merson.
Van de Ven is only 22 years old and a newcomer to the Premier League this season, but he has instantly become a regular starter for Tottenham alongside fellow centre-back Cristian Romero.
After costing them a transfer fee in the region of €50m, Tottenham will have been hoping for Van de Ven to make an impact to justify their investment. It seems he is well on course to doing so.
One observer who has been impressed by van de Ven is former Arsenal star Merson, who thinks the Dutchman is defying his youthful age.
Merson said on Sky Sports News: “When you watch him at 22, he is quite experienced, isn’t he?
“He is very experienced. He doesn’t dive in. For a young kid, he looks a very intelligent footballer.”
Van de Ven arrived at Tottenham on the back of 41 appearances for Wolfsburg, most of which he earned last season. Prior to his spell with the German club, he had represented Dutch second-tier outfit Volendam in 48 matches.
Now he is quickly winning the hearts of the Tottenham faithful after choosing to join the club rather than wait for Liverpool this summer, as TEAMtalk recently explained.
Van de Ven’s reliability convinced Ange Postecoglou to stick with him and Romero as Tottenham’s main centre-backs. Furthermore, this led to Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez leaving the club and Eric Dier was expected to follow suit.
