Ledley King was one of the Premier League’s finest centre-halves but could Thomas Frank have a carbon copy already in his squad?
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Ledley King should be in the conversation about who the best central defenders are from the Premier League era with the Tottenham Hotspur legend a formidable force in his day.
He had the strength of Sol Campbell, the aerial ability of John Terry, the pace of Rio Ferdinand and leadership of Tony Adams. Playing in an era with some of the finest strikers to grace English shores, King still managed to stroll through games whilst hardly being able to train for much of his senior career. International honours were also curtailed as a result of his body letting him down.
Tottenham have new Ledley King in Micky van de Ven
Centre halves who can do it all don’t grow on trees, especially ones who can score goals from the edge of the own box too. In Micky van de Ven, Spurs have a modern version of King with the defensive duo sharing several qualities. The common denominator is that the defences that the two players line-up in are weaker without their name being present. Not just for what they offer as an individual, but also what they bring to the team in terms of leadership and making those around them better.
Whereas King used to lead from the back, Van de Ven leads from the front with his goal against Copenhagen being the perfect example of how he takes responsibility. After snubbing Thomas Frank in a show of frustration only a few days earlier, the 24-year old took matters into his own hands to seal three Champions League points.
"I definitely need to think a little bit about that, but it seems like we had Lionel Messi turned into Micky van de Ven running down from his own goal and all the way to the other end to score a fantastic goal. I think he's our top scorer in all competitions so he can keep going. He can keep, by the way, walking past me if he's angry after a game if he delivers like this."
Ledley King loves Micky van de Ven
King himself is a huge fan but can’t believe how Spurs got so lucky via the club’s official website: “If I’m honest, he’s shocked me!” stated Ledley at the end of Van de Ven’s first season at Spurs.
“There are not many times you get a young, left-footed, centre-half who is rapid, and you don’t know too much about him.
"I didn’t know too much about him... so, for him to be here and to be of the quality he is, it’s really impressive. He’s impressed everyone, he’s been fantastic... scoring goals as well as well as defending! I love everything about him. First and foremost, he’s very comfortable on the ball, left footers always look nice, regardless of what position they play in, and he has a nice left foot. It’s his speed though, his recovery speed as well as when he’s bringing the ball out.
“That’s such a big thing, especially when we want to play such an attacking style of football, to have his speed at the back makes everyone feel so secure. We’ve seen Cuti trying to bomb on, that’s what he loves to do, it’s part of his game, playing forward and joining in, or just making a run, that’s his style of play. So, to have someone like van de Ven at the back gives you that security.
“I don’t expect to see anyone outrun him any time soon! I can’t see anyone beating him at the moment. His pace... I think he could run in the 100-metre final, and he wouldn’t finish last! That’s how fast he is. It’s actually quite funny to watch people try to outrun him. He gets quicker, quicker and quicker!” A sentiment shared by Copenhagen’s defence.