Micky van de Ven has been the man tasked with captaining Tottenham in recent weeks, but now the club have been told he should be sold.
The Tottenham defender cut a forlorn figure at the end of the 4-1 defeat to North London rivals Arsenal, and his form has been concerning of late.
Igor Tudor has to get things moving in the right direction pretty quickly if Tottenham are to avoid relegation this season, with Spurs yet to win a Premier League game in 2026.
How many points will Tottenham take from their next four Premier League matches?
Van de Ven is one player who needs to be influencing the rest of the team to get out of this slump, but there is no sign of any real recovery at the moment.
Now, in the aftermath of the Arsenal defeat, one former Premier League player believes the writing is already on the wall for Van de Ven at Forest.
Carlton Cole thinks Tottenham should sell Micky van de Ven
Speaking on the latest podcast for Al Arabiya, Cole has suggested that there was something that happened in the North London derby that suggested Tottenham should sell Van de Ven.
Tudor was trying to give instructions to Van de Ven during the contest, and footage showed the Dutchman completely ignoring his new head coach.
That isn’t a good sign considering the Croatian is supposed to be inspiring Tottenham to improve, and Cole thinks the club need to sell Van de Ven.
He said: “They have to sell, they’re going to have to sell a few players. I saw a clip of Van de Ven.
“Igor Tudor was saying, “Listen, I want you to push up high.” And then he was saying, “No, I ain’t.” basically said, “No,” so this is what I’m saying. This is the type of people they are. They’re like, “No, I’m not listening to the gaffer. You’re not here for that long.” So, he’s trying to save you. Listen to him. Do what he says. But you think you know better.
“That’s the problem at Spurs at the moment. I think, anyway, they got culturally, they need to get off their high horse and start learning the game and understanding that the manager knows best.”
Van de Ven looks like he doesn’t want to be at Tottenham
The North London-based club are in a bit of a mess right now, and the issues with Van de Ven are not helping matters in the slightest.
The defender hasn’t been at his best this season, and his attitude against Arsenal seems to suggest that he doesn’t really care too much about the situation at the club right now.
In the summer, there will be a decision to make over Van de Ven for sure and if he doesn’t want to remain in North London, then the club should seek out a suitor for his services.
Tottenham need real leaders to keep them in the Premier League this season and it’s getting somewhat perilous with West Ham and Forest both picking up more points in 2026.
With Fulham and Crystal Palace to play next up, Tottenham have to target four points, and if they can obtain those, things would look a lot rosier at the foot of the Premier League table.
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