Guglielmo Vicario shares ‘lost’ Micky van de Ven update on Tottenham tour
Guglielmo Vicario has posted an update on Micky van de Ven as the Tottenham team arrive in Hong Kong for their pre-season tour.
Last season wasn’t plain-sailing for Spurs’ number one following an injury-hit campaign.
The 28-year-old made 24 appearances in the league, missing out during the crucial Christmas period as his side suffered domestically.
The Lilywhites languished for more than half the season in the bottom of the table as they ended up finishing in 17th with only the promoted side worse than them.
But, it was Spurs and Vicario’s heroics in the Europa League that completely flipped the negativity of the season.
The Italian returned at a pivotal time to aid the north London side during the knockout stages of the European competition.
His key saves in decisive matches in the second-tier European tournament went towards delivering Tottenham’s first trophy for 17-years as they beat Man United in the final in Bilbao.
Now turning to the new season under Thomas Frank, the shot-stopper and his teammates prepare for the pre-season tour in Hong Kong.
Vicario and van de Ven on the plane to Asia
Taking to Instagram stories (27 July), the goalkeeper posted a photo alongside Dutch international van de Ven on the plane to Hong Kong.
The story was captioned: “He’s lost without me. Next stop Hong Kong.”
Vicario to be busy next season
Football Insider verdict
The Lilywhites struggled defensively last campaign, mainly due to a depleted defence and a evident focus on winning the Europa League.
They kept just six clean sheets in 38 Premier League matches, conceding 65 goals at a rate of 1.7 per game.
Now under ex-Brentford manager Frank, the defence should tighten up a bit given the Bees conceded eight less goals, keeping two more shut-outs.
The numbers aren’t much better than Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs side from last year, but this was a new-look Brentford side who prioritised attack over defence.
Of particularly note is how many saves new Bayer Leverkusen signing Mark Flekken made in his final season at the club.
| Premier League goalkeepers 2024-25 | Saves | |
| 1. | Mark Flekken (Brentford) | 153 |
| 2. | Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton) | 125 |
| 3. | Jordan Pickford (Everton) | 122 |
| 4. | Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest) | 120 |
| 5. | Bernd Leno (Fulham) | 110 |
| 6. | Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace) | 104 |
| 7. | Mads Hermansen (Leicester) | 103 |
| 8. | Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) | 100 |
| 9. | Kep Arrizabalaga (Bournemouth) | 97 |
| 10. | Robert Sanchez (Chelsea) | 95 |
The Dutchman made a league-high 153 saves, surprisingly miles ahead of Newcastle target Aaron Ramsdale (125) in second-place given he played in an abysmal Southampton side.
In contrast, Vicario made 68 saves in his injury-ravaged season at 2.83 saves per 90 minutes fewer than Flekken (4.2).
These statistics show that the Italian must be prepared to face an increase in shots on goal this season.
An increase in the quality of players for Frank will likely reduce the numbers from his time in West London such as the arrival of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham.
Yet, the Spurs goal will likely be peppered, calling the 28-year-old into action more than he perhaps would anticipate next season.