Burnley summer signing Quilindschy Hartman or Tottenham Hotspur star Micky van de Ven? For journalist Valentijn Driessen, there’s only one answer, at least for the Netherlands.
Soccer News cover comments from him today in which he picks the Burnley man over the Tottenham man as the Netherlands’ starting left-back.
Van de Ven has been earning rave reviews since joining Tottenham in a €40m move from Wolfsburg in 2023, establishing himself as the starting centre-back alongside Cristian Romero.
That’s yet to happen for the Netherlands and he’s instead often found himself playing at left-back for them as Ronald Koeman has other options at centre-back, including captain Virgil van Dijk in his preferred left-centre-back position.
That continued during this international break as the Tottenham defender started at left-back in the 1-1 draw with Poland and then replaced Nathan Ake in the position as a second half substitute in the win over Lithuania.
Whether he continues in the role long-term remains to be seen, particularly given he is a centre-back by trade and continues to play there for Tottenham. Driessen, for his part, thinks it should be a long-term thing and believes Burnley’s summer signing is the ideal choice instead.
“The ultimate left back plays at Burnley. That’s Hartman. He’s the best left back, but he’ll have a few months to get back to his old level,” he said when asked if Van de Ven was the best option by presenter Pim Sedee.
“Then I think he’s the best left back on the Dutch national team. Jurriën Timber played there too. If you don’t play him in the center, you can put him at left back,
“Van de Ven has a lot of energy, speed, and strength. He can run really fast to the byline, and then he doesn’t know what to do. That’s a problem.”