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Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven has now opened up on his goal target for the season after hitting six so far.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven has developed a new habit under Thomas Frank, and that is his ability to find the back of the net.
The Spurs boss revealed earlier this season that he wants Micky van de Ven to score more goals, particularly from set pieces, and in recent weeks, that has been on show.
Van de Ven scored twice from corners against Everton in the Premier League, but in the Champions League tie against Copenhagen, the Dutchman took it up a notch, scoring a wonderful solo goal as he beat his man from defence to attack before finishing smartly.
Micky van de Ven opens up on Tottenham goal target
That goal has now taken Van de Ven’s tally to six for the season, the most of any Tottenham player, and he has now opened up on his target.
Speaking to football.london, Van de Ven, who played as a striker when he was a youngster, reflected on his unexpected scoring run.
The Dutchman, who had not scored in his previous campaign, was asked if he was now targeting 20 goals like a forward would.
“No, six goals is a lot already to be honest!” said the Dutchman. “I do not know where it is going to end, but hopefully I can score more goals this season.”
He went on to describe his solo goal against Copenhagen, explaining the thought process behind it.
“Today I got the ball in my own box, I saw the gap opening every time in front of me when I started dribbling.
“At one point I thought some players were around me and I came through and I saw the way was open to the goal so I was like ‘ok I keep going now I need to finish this’,” he said. “At that point, I was saying ‘I need to score this one’. Luckily, it happened.
“The one against Everton with the assist, there were some defenders in front of me. When I was past these defenders [this time], the route was all the way open. Then I was like ‘now I need to go myself’.”
Thomas Frank delighted with Van de Ven’s progress at Spurs
Frank is best pleased with the Dutchman following his recent strike, despite their little altercation in the game against Chelsea, where Van de Ven looked to have snubbed him.
The Dane was quick to compare his pacy centre-back to Lionel Messi following his incredible solo run, which shows just how impressive it was.
Van de Ven has often had fitness issues since arriving at Tottenham, but he has been a near-ever-present so far this season. With such an emphasis on set-pieces in the Premier League this season, there is no reason why the centre-back can’t add more goals to his tally and even aim for double figures.
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