“Slow”, “wooden”: Tim Sherwood criticizes Tottenham’s newcomer in the summer

Tim Sherwood has taken a critical look at Micky van de Ven, Tottenham Hotspur’s summer signing, calling him “wooden”.

The 22-year-old made his debut for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham on Sunday as they recorded a 2-2 draw at Brentford.

Micky van de Ven started alongside goalscorer Cristian Romero but was dismissed after 15 minutes with a concussion, leaving the Dutchman with a new centre-back partner in Davinson Sanchez.

The energetic defender may not have been allowed to settle in properly, but although he survived that, former Spurs boss Sherwood threw question marks at the player and said he hopes he’ll be proven wrong Premier League Productions (08/14/23 at 2:45 p.m.).

Well, Sherwood has been here before when he slammed Pedro Porro after his arrival in January – when the Spurs full-back lashed out at the Englishman.

The former Blackburn captain attacked Porro on his debut and proved wrong and the same scenario could crop up again.

“It’s not about individuals in midfield, it’s about partnerships,” Sherwood said. “I hope van de Ven is the answer.

“It looks a bit wooden to me. He is very fast. 6ft5. I only say what I see. I don’t know much about him and hopefully he’s a lot better than I think.

“He is very wooden on the ball. Slow in the curve. Very fast in a straight line. And hopefully he and Romero could be the partnership they need.”

Van de Ven will be successful at Tottenham

Postecoglou’s new style was evident on day one and requires his centre-backs to be quick as there will be several one-on-ones and also to have the ability to play from defence.

Tottenham’s new signing is doing exactly what Postecoglou needs on paper, it’s just about being patient with the player and he will cook.

And even if there are a few hiccups along the way, patience is required because there’s no point going back to the likes of Eric Dier or Davinson Sanchez who just aren’t good enough.

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