Tottenham may have had a rough first season under Ange Postecoglou, but Micky van de Ven has been the team’s bright spot.

The Dutchman has been brilliant for much of the season, with the exception of a handful of ludicrous errors against Newcastle United, and is swiftly becoming one of the Premier League’s most respected defenders.

Already, Gary Lineker has praised the centre-back, drawing analogies to Virgil van Dijk, but BBC Sport analyst Garth Crooks has admitted he may not stay at Spurs for long.

Crooks wrote in his BBC Sport Team of the Week (13 May): “Apart from the horrific performance at St James’ Park, where Spurs were thrashed by Newcastle and Micky van de Ven looked like he was wearing skis instead of football boots, he’s had a perfect season.

“His finish against Burnley, who have spent far too much time this season focusing on pretty football rather than being practical, was breathtakingly brilliant.”

“The problem both Van de Ven and Saliba have is they are outstanding young defenders who are not currently winning any trophies and should that continue they won’t be at either club for very much longer.”

Will Tottenham maintain Micky van de Ven during the summer transfer window?

The 23-year-old was outstanding in the Lilywhites’ recent victory over Burnley, not only defending well but also finishing like a striker in front of goal.

According to Fotmob, Van de Ven’s goal had an xG of 0.10, as he simply tapped in from the edge of the penalty box with his left foot to clinch all three points for Postecoglou’s team.

As Crooks mentioned, the Dutchman rarely made a mistake in possession, completing 94% of his 49 attempted passes in Saturday’s (11 May) 2-1 victory, three of which found a teammate in the final third.

Furthermore, the Tottenham defender demonstrated his willingness to carry the ball out of defence and drive into the middle of the park by completing all of his attempted dribbles in the game.

Few centre-backs in the Premier League are as good in possession as Van de Ven.

When compared to his division contemporaries, the 23-year-old ranks in the 98th percentile for average pass completion % per 90 minutes, with an outstanding average of 94.5 percent, according to Fbref.

Furthermore, the former Wolfsburg player ranks in the top five percent of defenders in terms of successful take-ons completed each match, with an average of 0.58 in every 90 minutes of football.

Out of possession, the Tottenham star is no slouch, either, as he won 100% of the tackles he entered against Burnley while also making a remarkable seven ball recoveries.

Similarly, Van de Ven won 100% of his ground duels and made a single block while committing no fouls as he and Cristian Romero effectively marshalled Lyle Foster for much of the match.

The Spurs gem, like his compatriot Van Dijk, is swiftly emerging as one of the league’s best tacklers; in fact, he ranks in the top 10% of centre-backs in terms of tackles won per game.

So far this season, the Dutch defender has tackled 73.3% of players who attempted to dribble past him and has only lost a challenge once per three games, a rate higher than 74% of defenders.