Tottenham Hotspur boast one of the most impressive center back partnerships in world football between Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, and these two young superstars have been as good as ever in the 2025/26 season, playing elite defense while scoring goals and passing like midfielders as the bed rock players of this Spurs side.
Because of the brilliance of Romero and Van de Ven and their sheer overall importance to the team's game play in and out of possession, it is then very easy to overlook the excellent third center back in the squad behind this marquee duo, Kevin Danso.
An excellent winter transfer from last year, Danso was an amazing player in Ligue 1 and arguably the best center back in a league filled with ascending talents there. Danso immediately paid dividends for Spurs in the 2024/25 campaign, too, putting in some colossal spot performances in central defense to help Romero and Van de Ven out en route to Spurs winning the Europa League trophy for the first time in 41 years.
Kevin Danso will have to keep top player quiet
Danso has been getting some runs under new manager Thomas Frank in the 2025/26 season, and while he is obviously no Cristian Romero or Micky van de Ven overall, the big Austrian defender and his wonderful throw ins have been a major asset to this Tottenham team.
Well, when Tottenham return to Champions League action next, Danso will be called upon to deliver the goods in a big way. Van de Ven was booked on a soft call in the 3-0 win over Slavia Praha on Tuesday night, meaning he will be suspended for the upcoming big ticket fixture against a club that is something of Germany's version of Tottenham, Borussia Dortmund.
The 2023/24 Champions League Finalists are not the power they were 10 years ago, but they can still be dangerous in the attack with Serhou Guirassy, Maxi Beier, and the electric Karim Adeyemi forming a pretty quality trio.
So Danso will have his hands full and will also have to help step his game up on the ball to match what Dortmund center backs Waldemar Anton and future Premier League transfer target Nico Schlotterbeck can do with the ball at their feet.
Nearly every time so far in the 2025/26 season, Danso has successfully risen to the challenge for Spurs. Dortmund in the Champions League is a stronger test than what Tottenham have usually thrown at him, but he has the quality to deliver and show his value to all.