Tottenham handed biggest January boost amid push for new signings
Tottenham handed biggest January boost amid push for new signings
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As January draws to a close, Ange Postecoglou's mid-winter selection crisis is finally showing signs of easing – not in the form of new signings, but with Micky van de Ven's return to the squad for Thursday's Europa League finale against IF Elfsborg.
"Let’s see how much we can get out of him," Postecoglou said. "He's had a good week, 10 days training with the team and is in good condition, so he is fine.". Van de Ven's return is an enormous boost for Postecoglou ahead of a decisive period for the head coach, with Spurs facing the Carabao Cup semi-final decider against Liverpool next Thursday before an FA Cup fourth-round tie at Aston Villa three days later.
In the meantime, Spurs need a result against Swedish club Elfsborg to guarantee a top-eight finish in the Europa League initial phase, before travelling to Brentford on Sunday on the back of a run of one win in their last 11 league games. Van de Ven has featured just once since pulling his hamstring against Manchester City at the end of October, returning to the line-up for the visit of Chelsea on December 8, only to suffer a fresh injury to the same muscle.
Cristian Romero, who is also working his way back to fitness, was also forced off in the same game, leaving Postecoglou without both starting centre-backs and relying largely on Radu Dragusin and midfielder Archie Gray to play every three days since. "Last time [Van de Ven] probably played more than he should have him in that first game [against Chelsea] but again hindsight and the circumstances around that game without rewriting history were pretty challenging anyway, but he’s ticked every box, worked awfully hard and been given clearance by the medical team," said Postecoglou.
