Why Micky van de Ven Is the Ideal Defensive Mould for Ange Postecoglou To Shape

Since the summer transfer window of 2017, Tottenham have signed just two centre-backs on permanent deals. The North London side have now made that three centre-backs with the signing of Wolfsburg and Netherlands defender Micky van de Ven for £34 million. They have reportedly adopted a new data-driven approach to recruitment this summer, so let’s see what the data says... 

Let’s look firstly at Tottenham’s well-documented defensive woes from last season. Tottenham became just the second team to score and concede over 60 goals in a single Premier League season; the last team to do so was, you guessed it, Tottenham in 2007/08.

They ended the season having conceded 63 times, more than any other club in the top 14. This was also the most they had conceded in a season since the first edition of the Premier League in 1992/93 when they conceded 66 goals in a 42-game campaign under the guidance of joint managers Doug Livermore and Ray Clemence. 

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