Better than Van Dyke

The stock price of Son Heung-min's teammate and Tottenham's main center back Mickey van der Pen is sky high.

Tottenham defeated Nottingham Forest 3-1 in the 32nd round of the 2023-2024 English Premier League (EPL) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on the 8th.

In the 7th minute of the second half of the day, a powerful scene came out.

Van de Pen, who was assisted by Son Heung-min, scored the winning goal. Manager Enze Postecoglou cheered. After the game, he said, "I always stress defenders to score goals. Van de Pen played that role."

This does not mean that defenders should neglect defense and score goals, but it also means that defenders should contribute as much as possible to pressure opponents and create goal chances through active participation in attacks.

Huscore, a soccer statistics magazine, gave Van der Pen an 8.1 rating, the highest in both teams. He was the only player to get an eight-point rating.

Son scored 7.1 points. Van de Pen, who also scored a high score but had a strong defense and scored the winning goal, was the star of the day.

Van der Pen, a midfielder with physical conditions of 1 meter 93 meters and 81 kilograms, is from the Netherlands. A native of the Eredivisie Folendam Youth, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2021 after playing in Wolfsburg. He is also a member of the Dutch national team.  안전놀이터

Already praised as the next Dutch center back since Eredivizier Polendam, he was also strong in Wolfsburg. Eventually, love calls from prestigious clubs poured in. Liverpool saluted him, but Tottenham eventually recruited him. The transfer fee is £40 million.

Son has performed tremendously this season. He remained strong in the center and created a sensation with Tottenham along with Son. In particular, he displayed strong physical conditions and the best speed in the league (37.37 km/h).

His relationship with captain Son Heung-min is also strong. In an interview with a local media outlet, Son said that he was especially close to Son, Madison and Udoji, and everyone opened up for me, making it easy for him to adapt to the team. In an interview with a Dutch media, Son also said that he speaks German with Van de Pen. He respects and loves him as a player.

Local experts are also praising him. The BBC reported that Tottenham's Van de Pen is one of the best recruitments for the season.

Jamie Carragher also said, "Alternals fans would think of Saliba as one of the best center backs, but I think Van der Pen has similarly performed well. When Tottenham lost him to injury, Tottenham's defense drastically declined. Without injuries, I think we can do as Liverpool's Van Dijk did. Van Dijk highly praised him for not showing the same performance as Van Dijk did at that age."