Tottenham Hotspur gave star center back Micky van de Ven a lot of responsibility this season, naming the Dutch defender captain after Cristian Romero officially exited the club to Atletico Madrid, which was a destination the Argentinian international had been flirting with for a while. Given Romero's strong World Cup campaign, there were a lot of doubts nationally about Van de Ven stepping up, especially since his countryman and new center back partner, Jan Paul van Hecke, did have a bit of a down year in 2025/26 for Brighton.
Van de Ven himself showed questionable leadership alongside Romero when Tottenham were spiraling down to their worst last season under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor. Many Spurs fans felt he was playing as if he had given up on himself and the team under Frank, but he was revived under Roberto De Zerbi, who showed the utmost faith in him by making him the captain.
Former Tottenham Hotspur center back Ledley King is now a key ambassador to the club, and he knows a thing or two about both what it takes to be a great Premier League center back and also what it takes to be a great leader for Spurs.
Ledley King has no doubts
And according to King, Micky van de Ven is golden. King has no doubts about Van de Ven and said that he believes the growing young central defender was indeed the right choice by Roberto De Zerbi to be the next Lilywhite captain.
Ledley King said, via Chris Cowlin, "I think he's a fantastic player. His new role now is to make the players around him better. I think Micky takes care of himself. His ability to recover and put fires out is something we've seen over the last few years. That's an important element for the team. So, I think the next role is to manage the group and get the best out of the group as a team. He's grown into the role. Having seen Micky on the pitch, he leads by example, for sure and I think he was the right choice to be captain."
There is no mistake that when he is on the pitch, Van de Ven is making the Tottenham defense better and is the best player overall in that back four. Spurs always miss him when he is out, and that has been the case this season, too. Even though Spurs are winless and in real trouble already, Van de Ven is one of the few bright spots for them.
Add us as a preferred source on Google