Tottenham Hotspur fans have a reason to be optimistic after the conclusion of the 2023/24 Premier League season.
A new manager in the dugout and losing one of your greatest-ever players in Harry Kane. To finish that off with a fifth-placed finish is pretty impressive.
Yes, there were many performances this season from Tottenham that left a lot to be desired and their manager Ange Postecoglou pretty frustrated.
But when you look at the whole picture, and heading into the summer transfer market, there has been progression.
Postecoglou deserves huge praise for Spurs being able to take a step forward, but his recruitment has helped in huge ways.
Given Tottenham’s unique style of play, their high line and fullbacks playing as number 10s, then their defence has a lot of open space to defend and that requires a special set of skills.
Speedster Micky van de Ven has that in abundance and it was a big reason why the club paid Wolfsburg £43 million for his services last summer.
Frank Leboeuf named the Dutchman in his Premier League Team of the Season, alongside Arsenal star William Saliba, with Ben White, Nathan Ake and Emiliano Martinez also making up the backline.
The former Chelsea player stated that van de Ven has been a ‘surprise’, not just to him or Spurs, but also to the Premier League, as he told ESPN.
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Micky van de Ven named in Premier League Team of the Season
“I wanted to put van de Ven because van de Ven was a real surprise,” Leboeuf. “He was a very good surprise for Spurs and the Premier League.”
Tottenham Hotspur’s defence
Spurs secured a clean sheet on the last day of the Premier League season, but it was away at already-relegated Sheffield United.
The defence has had many issues during the second half of the campaign.
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There are many reasons behind it. The expansive style of play. The inability to defend corners. The fact that Postecoglou is only in his first season and the lack of depth.
All of those need to be addressed for next season because if they can get that side of their game right, then they are going to be a massive threat.
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