MARTIN KEOWN: Micky van de Ven reminds me of a young Des Walker… the Dutchman is already integral to Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham

Pace is precious for a central defender. Micky van de Ven has it in abundance and that is key for Tottenham and their high line.

It is a system which demands his qualities and affords him plenty of opportunities to turn, chase and conquer.

Ange Postecoglou is unwavering in his desire to push players up the pitch. It never changes. They need Van de Ven’s speed to deal with counter-attacks and you can hear the crescendo of noise in the Tottenham stadium whenever Van de Ven uses his pace to come to the rescue. He is a popular boy already.

It is no coincidence Tottenham’s win percentage plummets when he is not in the team.

Next to a World Cup winner in Cristian Romero, he has been the one setting the standard in his debut season. As a young player, I was also noted for my pace. But I knew it was no good being known as quick if I did not use it in the right way.

When you come up against quick attackers, as Van de Ven will against Newcastle today, particularly Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon, it is the change of pace that can unlock you.

As he often gets to the ball first when opponents play it into the channel, I’ve not seen him exposed too many times in one-v-ones, where the attacker charges at you, stops, and then bursts out of the blocks. Let’s see how he copes with that today.

There are some areas in which Van de Ven can improve. I feel he could be more commanding from crosses with Tottenham collectively not the best at defending set-pieces. 

He needs to be alert whenever the goalkeeper spills a shot too. Against Forest last week, their goal arrived when he did not close down Neco Williams as quickly as he could have, which enabled the untracked Anthony Elanga to latch on to the pass before assisting Chris Wood.

All that is about him learning. He is only 22, soon to turn 23, and his sweeping up reminds me of a former defender who the Forest fans used to love, singing: ‘You’ll never beat Des Walker.’ Fine-tuning, Van de Ven has the potential to become a defender strikers want to avoid. 

Last season, Tottenham finished eighth and Newcastle fourth. Today, Tottenham are fourth and Newcastle eighth. Spurs need to win to maintain their momentum but Eddie Howe’s side will be desperate to win to keep alive their chances of securing some form of European football.