Transfer Talk: Why Tottenham want to sign Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg
Aussie boss Ange Postecoglou intends to do things differently at Tottenham.
The North London club have spent the majority of the last four years putting their eggs in the baskets of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, an experiment that paid little dividends.
Excitement and risk-taking are the new orders of the day at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — and ball-playing defenders will form part of the innovative strategy.
We profile Wolfsburg centre-back Micky van de Ven, the centre-back Spurs hope will embody their change in style.
Restructuring Tottenham's defence must be one of Postecoglou's first priorities.
Spurs conceded the sixth-most goals in the Premier League last season (63), a poor return for a richly-assembled team that played defensive football for much of the campaign under Conte.
Any incomings must be offset by outgoings, with Postecoglou's squad full of players who are unlikely to make the transition.
Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga and Ben Davies could all be sold if the North London club commit to the Ange revolution.
Postecoglou has been hired to transform Tottenham's playing style, so their centre-backs will be expected to do very different things next season.
The Australian will ask his defenders to take risks with the ball in order to progress the side up the field, whether it be passes between the lines or dribbles.
Cristian Romero is likely to be one beneficiary of the style change – but the new boss will want a left-footed player to complement him.
Van de Ven appears to fit the mould perfectly.
The Dutchman has all the progressive attributes that Tottenham are after.
He ranked 13th of Bundesliga centre-backs for completed passes into the final third last season, while no positional rival completed more take-ons
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