Right now there’s a clear issue at Tottenham Hotspur – Ange Postecoglou’s side simply can’t keep the ball out of their net whilst Micky van de Ven is injured.
Given the way Postecoglou sets up for games with a very high line at Tottenham, Van de Ven is incredibly important with his recovery pace and decision making.
Moreover, it’s also become clear that Cristian Romero is a much better defender alongside the Dutchman – Van de Ven has arguably become Spurs’ most important player.
In terms of his fresh hamstring issue, Postecoglou originally thought the defender would be back shortly after the international break.
The Tottenham boss said the date will be ‘dictated by his progress’ – an injury that shouldn’t be rushed.
Radu Dragusin endures another horror show against Ipswich Town
Of course, in his absence, Radu Dragusin has stepped in, a £25m signing who was intended to lessen the effect of Van de Ven or Romero missing a game.
However, despite the promise of the Romanian, Dragusin has endured a torrid week whilst filling in against Ipswich Town and Galatasaray.
Dragusin followed up a poor performance in mid-week to produce another error leading to goal – which has happened in each of his last two Spurs appearances.
It’s fair to say that Dragusin’s performances have been very inconsistent since he’s arrived in N17, even if he has enjoyed some good moments too.
However, his agent’s comments about using Tottenham as a stepping stone for an eventual move to Real Madrid currently look quite ludicrous.
Radu Dragusin’s agent thinks he’ll leave Tottenham for dream Real Madrid move
Speaking back in January shortly after Dragusin signed for Spurs, his agent, Florin Manea, made some very odd comments which appeared to pitch Tottenham as a stepping stone.
Speaking to Digi Sport in Romania, Manea said that Dragusin was only at the beginning of his journey, stating that playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona would be the dream.
Manea said: “We are only at the beginning of the road, we want him to reach the best teams in the world.
“We were close, Bayern are among the biggest clubs, but his dream is Real or Barcelona.
“If he was 23 or 24 years old and had more experience, maybe he would have decided to go to Bayern, but we took many things into account; his age and the competition.”
He then added: “In three or four years I see him at Real Madrid.”
Comments that are very hard to stomach after Dragusin’s performance on Sunday.
Tottenham suffered another major setback as they lost at home to Ipswich.
A win would have taken Spurs into the top four but first-half goals from Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap gave Ipswich their first win of the season in the Premier League.
Rodrigo Bentancur pulled a goal back in the second half but Spurs were unable to rouse themselves for another big comeback on a bad day for Ange Postecoglou
Spurs were given an early warning when Cameron Burgess hit the bar with a header from a corner and Ipswich took a deserved lead on 31 minutes.
Spurs failed to deal with a cross into the boss and Szmodics scored brilliant overhead kick.
It was 2-0 after 43 minutes when more shaky Spurs defending allowed Delap to turn the ball home on the line.
Spurs came out with some purpose after the break and Dominic Solanke had a goal ruled out by VAR early in the second half for handball.
Bentancur set up a nervy final 20 minutes for Ipswich when he headed home from unmarked from a Pedro Porro corner but Spurs could not find an equaliser.
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