Leicester City defender Conor Coady, working a stint on BBC Radio 5 Live's punditry panel this weekend, believes Tottenham have a "massive" young defender in their ranks.
Tottenham seal vital 4-0 win away to Aston Villa
Ange Postecoglou was left thrilled after his Spurs side eventually strolled to a 4-0 win away to top four rivals and fellow Champions League qualification contenders Aston Villa on Sunday.
Fabrizio Romano says midfielder will sign imminent new Tottenham contract
The Lilywhites are set to tie him down this week.
ByEmilio GalantiniMar 11, 2024
The first half was much more neck-and-neck, but two quick-fire goals soon after the restart from James Maddison and Brennan Johnson gifted Spurs a real advantage and Villa a mountain to climb.
It was irrecoverable for Unai Emery's side, who soon afterwards lost captain John McGinn to a red card. The north Londoners then compiled more misery on Villa with two late goals in added time.
Son Heung-min
9.4
Brennan Johnson
8.2
Cristian Romero
7.9
Destiny Udogie
7.8
Stoppage strikes from Son Heung-min and January signing Timo Werner sealed the vital 4-0 victory and rounded off what was, arguably, Spurs' finest second half performance of the campaign.
A wonderful afternoon by all accounts, a slight dampener is the worries surrounding star defender Micky van de Ven, with reports today suggesting he is set for assessment after being taken off with hamstring trouble against Villa (Dan Kilpatrick).
One silver lining for Spurs, though, is van de Ven himself believing that it won't be anything too serious.
“I’m not sure, he doesn’t think it’s anything too significant,” said Postecoglou on van de Ven's injury against Villa. “So disappointing for him because he was outstanding again up until that point. Great for Radu [Dragusin] to come in, his first significant game-time in a big game and I thought he handled it really well.”
The Dutchman being sidelined with another hamstring injury, akin to what happened earlier in the season, would be an almighty blow for Tottenham but van de Ven's self assessment is at least a positive.
Van de ven has formed an exceptional partnership with Cristian Romero at the heart of Tottenham's defence this term, and it's undoubtedly been a crucial factor in their chase for a top four finish.
Coady praises "massive" van de Ven at Tottenham
Following Spurs' 4-0 win over Villa, Leicester defender Coady told BBC Radio 5 Live that van de Ven is "massive" for Spurs – heaping praise on the 22-year-old summer signing from Wolfsburg.
“It’s how you want to watch football," said Coady. “You want to watch football on the front foot, you want to watch people being aggressive and stepping in and not worrying about the space in behind but use his pace to get back in. He is a fantastic footballer, and like I said, for this Tottenham team and how they play, he is a massive part of that.”
Given his contribution, there is a very serious case to be made that van de Ven could be seen as one of the signings of the summer.
