Tapsopa or Van de Ven… What is the best option for Tottenham in the defensive line?
Tottenham failed to convince Brentford to reduce its financial demands for goalkeeper David Raya, which led to a change in the club’s plans somewhat this summer. Brentford demanded £40m to sell the Spain international, despite Raya being in the final year of his contract with the club, and despite signing Marc Flecken from Freiburg.
Instead, Tottenham signed goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli, and although the Italian goalkeeper has great potential, this deal was also problematic. Raya was born in Barcelona, but he actually fits the criteria of a player who lived with the Premier League, given that he moved to Blackburn at the age of seventeen. Not only would Raya become a great substitute for Hugo Lloris, but he would also be one of the eight players who have adapted to the English environment in the squad of 25 players. But now Tottenham must be careful about adding more non-local players, and it must also seriously consider strengthening the defense line, as the club needs to sign at least two defensive players after the return of Clement Lenglet to Barcelona and the expected departure of Davinson Sanchez.
There are two defenders Tottenham is considering signing one of them this summer – Bayer Leverkusen star Edmund Tapsoba and Wolfsburg defender Mickey van de Ven. And if Tottenham had signed Raya instead of Vicario, perhaps the club would have considered signing both defenders to strengthen its fragile defense line. There is now a consensus that Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou should sign just one of the two defenders who play in the Bundesliga.
Both players presented strong levels with their clubs in the Bundesliga, as Bayer Leverkusen ranked sixth, and Wolfsburg fell to eighth after its level fluctuated at the end of the season. But the question that must be asked now is: Does Tottenham want to sign a central defender who is more ready to play in the English Premier League, or with a player who has the ability, in theory, to reach higher levels and horizons? If Tottenham are looking for a player with more aptitude for playing in the Premier League, they should sign Burkinabé international defender Tapsouba.
Tapsouba has been a regular in Leverkusen’s first team since joining from Vitoria Guimaraes in January 2020, catching the eye of several clubs along the way. Reports indicated Arsenal’s interest in contracting with the 24-year-old earlier this year, but he eventually signed with Yuren Timber, leaving the way open for Tottenham to sign Tapsoba.
Postecoglou wants the defender he contracts to be adept at building attacks from behind, which Tapsoba is very good at, and therefore will be a strong addition to Spurs. Tapsoba ranked fifth among all players in last season’s Europa League in terms of passes per game (76.3 assists), with a pass-correction rate of 87.2 per cent. Moreover, Tapsoba ranked second for forward passes (879 passes) in the Bundesliga last season.
Tapsoba started playing as a center back on the left, but he is good at moving well inside the penalty area, and he would be a great option for Tottenham, who seeks to sign a center back on the left in order to form a strong defensive partnership with Christian Romero, who plays center back on the right. As for Van de Ven, he is two years younger than Tapsuba, and has less experience at higher levels, but there are reasons to believe that he can become a better player, as the young Dutch player is characterized by great speed and great determination, as well as great physical strength that makes many liken him to fellow Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dyck, so it was not surprising that Liverpool also showed interest in including the young Wolfsburg star.
During the match that Wolfsburg lost in the German Cup last season against Union Berlin, Van de Ven performed admirably and showed great speed in spoiling the opposing team’s counter-attacks. And when Wolfsburg was attacking fiercely in order to equalize, Union Berlin was launching very fast counter-attacks, but Van de Ven was standing in the lookout and spoiling them one by one thanks to his super speed.
That was not surprising at all, because Van de Ven was the fastest defender in the Bundesliga last season. Given that Postecoglou wants his defenders to be more adventurous, it’s good that he has a super quick player like Van de Ven with the ability to right any mistake the team makes. But it should be noted that both defenders have disadvantages in terms of air games. Although Van de Ven is quite tall – 1.93m – his volley success rate was just 52.2 per cent in the Bundesliga last season. Tapsoba was not much better than him, as his success rate in volleys reached only 55.6 percent in the Bundesliga during the last season, so there are obvious weaknesses in this aspect, but they can be overcome through proper training.
Wolfsburg defender Mickey van de Ven (DBA)
What is clear, however, is that Tottenham have identified two strong candidates to play on the left side of defence. Given the signings Tottenham have made so far this summer – with James Maddison and Manor Solomon also joining – the club can be trusted to make the right decision about signing a quality defender. Both Tapsouba and Van de Ven have the ability to lead the back line safely, which Spurs were sorely lacking last season, and they fit perfectly into Postecoglou’s way of thinking.
But if Tottenham have to choose between the two, Van de Wien may be the better option, not only because of his young age and great potential, but because Postecoglou can also form and rely on him as a central defender to suit the way the team plays, and he can benefit from his ability to play in more than one position, as the 22-year-old player can also play at left back. However, this does not mean that Tottenham fans will feel disappointed if the club signs Tapsopa instead of Van de Ven, but they have the right to be really frustrated and disappointed if the club does not sign either of them!
* Guardian service
2023-07-22 20:43:00
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