ANDERTON A VAN FAN

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SPEED king Micky van de Ven could fasttrack Tottenham’s return to the Champions League.

That is the verdict of former Tottenham and England star Darren Anderton, who also believes the Holland international can halt Arsenal’s title charge in a seasondefining north London derby today.

“I think he has the potential to be the best centre-back in the Premier League, he’s that good,” said Anderton.

“He’s probably the one player Spurs have missed most when he has been out this season – that’s the size of the impact he has made since coming here.

“It can take time for players to adapt to the Premier League but he has come in and made it look easy.

“He’s huge for us and for that defence because when he’s out Cristian Romero doesn’t look quite as assured alongside someone else.

“Yes, he has made the odd mistake. You saw that in the game against Newcastle, but generally I think he has been absolutely outstanding.

“And he’ll need to be in the derby because this is an Arsenal side that can just cut through defences, as you saw against Chelsea on Tuesday night.

“But after the season they’ve had, missing out on the top four would feel like a real disappointment.

“And getting into that top four will have a huge bearing on who comes in this summer because all the top players want to play in the Champions League.”