Recent Tottenham Hotspur signing Leonardo Gabbanini says he is delighted with the summer signing of Micky van de Ven after a good start to the season.
Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven is the defensive version of Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland.
That is the opinion of former Tottenham Hotspur scout Leonardo Gabbanini, who is full of praise for Van de Ven.
Tottenham wanted a left-footed centre-back this summer and chose Van de Ven.
Spurs have shelled out £34.
5m, rising to £43m, for Van de Ven, and it looks like it’s money well spent at the moment.
Micky van de Ven vs Erling Haaland Tottenham fans loved what they saw from Van de Ven and Leonardo Gabbanini gave an insight into his appearance.
Italian talent scout Gabbanini was Tottenham’s chief scout before leaving the club in September.
Gabbanini was therefore heavily involved in the summer additions like Van de Ven and him He spoke to The Athletic about his appearance.
Gabbanini notes that Tottenham need to “project the future” with Van de Ven in the hope of seeing him fulfill his potential in north London.
Some at Tottenham may not have been convinced by the asking price, but Gabbanini pushed for Van de Ven’s arrival and got what he wanted.
Gabbanini added that he sees real similarities between Van de Ven and Erling Haaland, believing they are both “big”, “fast” and “angry”, suggesting Van de Ven is Haaland of physically dominant defenders.
Gabbanini followed Haaland for Udinese as a child so he was delighted to land at Van de Ven after missing out on the opportunity to meet the Norwegian.
“When we have a player like Van de Ven, it’s not as simple as saying ‘He’s big and fast’.
We have to predict the future,” Gabbanini said.
“You have to be sure when (decision makers) start saying: ‘I don’t know, the price is high, he’s young, not in the national team’.
Your job is to stand there and say, “No, go ahead.
He will achieve great things.
And that’s what I’m most proud of at Tottenham, because I didn’t compete for obvious players.
“He’s big, he’s fast, he’s angry.
And that’s also what I see in Van de Ven.
I say he’s like Haaland, but as a centre-back.
So maybe I didn’t get one, but I’m glad we got the other one,” he added.
Van de Ven is just 22 years old while Romero is 25, so both will have their best football ahead.
This is Tottenham’s hope, they will now hope Van de Ven can help Haaland when Spurs take on Manchester City.
Their first clash will take place in early December when Spurs head to the Etihad Stadium.
Van de Ven vs Haaland promises to be an interesting clash, with Gabbanini seemingly believing they have very similar qualities despite playing at opposite ends of the pitch.
