Gabby Agbonlahor named three Tottenham players in his Team of the Week, including the club’s centre-back pairing, with the former Aston Villa striker waxing lyrical about Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.
While Spurs were extremely leaky at the back last season, almost everyone would agree that it was down to how open they were rather than down to their personnel at the back.
In fact, one can persuasively make the case that Romero and Van de Ven are the best centre-back pairing across the Premier League – with perhaps only Arsenal’s defensive duo for company.
Apart from being outstanding defenders and excellent on the ball, they also complement each other really well, with the Argentine being aggressive and looking to contest duals while the Dutchman is composed and mops up loose balls with his recovery pace.
Agbonlahor acknowledged that Romero has managed to control his aggression much better over the last 12 months.
The pundit wrote in his talkSPORT column about the Tottenham vice-captain: “He took his goal well. To score a goal from a set piece against a Sean Dyche team it means it’s got to be a very good goal. The way he jumps over James Tarkowski, there was only one player who wanted it the most.
“But it wasn’t just his goal, it’s the aggression that he now shows in the right way – previously he’d get sent off or commit bad tackles or lose his temper, but now he’s showing it and saying ‘you’re not getting past me’. He’s a really top defender and there’s a reason why he’s won the World Cup and the Copa America.”
Agbonlahor was just as complimentary of Van de Ven, admitting that he would have hated playing against the 23-year-old.
He said about the former Wolfsburg defender: “I think he’s the best centre-back in the league alongside William Saliba. I always look at defenders and think ‘what would I have liked or not liked to have played against’ and he’s one that I’d have hated to play against.
“I’d have gone to the other centre-half instead of playing against him. He’s got electric pace, aggression in the right way and he’s good on the ball which he showed with his assist for Heung-min Son.
“He’s so good at coming out with the ball and running the length of the pitch when needed – that’s what he did and it was an outstanding performance once again. When you’ve got two defenders like Van de Ven and Romero, you’ve always got a chance.”
Yves Bissouma was the other Spurs player to make it into Agbonlahor’s Team of the Week, with the 37-year-old writing about the midfielder: “His off-the-field antics – something that I got in trouble for as well – players have to go through that stage and learn from it. He missed the first game of the season and perhaps luckily because of Bentancur’s head injury, he’s got back into the side.
“The way he took that goal – his first for Spurs – he smashed it off the underside of the crossbar. It was a great goal and a great finish and all game he was getting on the ball and putting in tackles at the right time. It was a very good performance and he set the tempo for that Spurs midfield.”
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The most exciting thing about Romero and Van de Ven is that they are continuing to get better as a pairing, with the Dutchman having an extremely high ceiling while the Argentine is only now starting to enter his peak.
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