Jamie O’Hara rates Tottenham’s defensive pair Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero so highly that he thinks they could start for any club side in the world.
It has certainly been a positive beginning to the new season for Tottenham, winning three of the opening four Premier League matches. Thomas Frank’s side were unfortunate to lose the Super Cup final on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain, too.
Without a doubt, the centre-back partnership of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero has been at the heart of Spurs’ strong form.
Alan Shearer praised Van de Ven after he scored in the weekend’s 3-0 league victory away to West Ham. Most importantly, it was the team’s third clean sheet of the season, highlighting the incredible improvement in defence.
Jamie O’Hara rates Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero as the world’s best centre-back duo
According to former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara, the combination of Van de Ven and Romero is currently the best centre-back partnership in the world.
O’Hara said on talkSPORT: “Van de Ven and Romero, I’d go as far as to say is the best centre-back partnership in the world right now… They get into any team in the world right now. There is only one player who I think is probably better than them, and that’s [Virgil] Van Dijk.”
Van de Ven, 24, looks like one of the Premier League’s elite centre-halves when he’s fit and firing. Hopefully, the rapid Dutchman can stay free of injuries, which has been an issue during his time in North London so far.
As for Romero, the 27-year-old powerhouse appears to be thriving under the extra responsibility since becoming the new club captain.
If we rewind to last year, Romero was linked with Real Madrid. However, he’s since signed a new deal with Spurs as he continues to shine in the heart of defence next to Van de Ven.
The formidable Tottenham defence
All of a sudden, Spurs do look pretty impressive at the back.
While Van de Ven and Romero shine as centre-backs, Guglielmo Vicario is a solid goalkeeper behind them between the sticks. Pedro Porro and Djed Spence look equally impressive as the full-back pairing as well.
Rio Ferdinand recently praised Spence as the best 1v1 defender in the England squad. It’s no coincidence that he’s part of a Spurs backline which is only getting better and better as a unit.
Spurs conceded 65 goals in a 38-game league season last year under Ange Postecoglou, but we expect to see that record drastically improve this term.
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