Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven may have risked putting potential suitors Liverpool off signing him in the summer, according to former Reds full-back Glen Johnson.
Van de Ven was sent off in Tottenham’s 3–1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Thursday and will miss Spurs’ trip to Anfield in the Premier League next weekend as a result.
Spurs could enter that game in the relegation zone following a dire run of form that has seen them slide down the table and led to the sacking of Thomas Frank as manager last month.
Former Brentford boss Frank has been replaced on an interim basis by ex-Juventus manager Igor Tudor, but the Croatian has lost all three of his matches in charge, heightening relegation fears in north London.
Tudor’s first match in charge against Arsenal saw Van de Ven seemingly ignore instructions to push up the pitch.
The incident came just a few weeks after the defender was seen snubbing Frank as he left the field following a defeat to Chelsea.
Former Liverpool right-back Johnson says such behaviour will not endear Van de Ven to potential new clubs should he leave Spurs in the summer.
“Managers need to know that ability alone isn’t enough,” Johnson told BOYLE Sports.
“Players need to be willing to do what their teammates, the manager, and the team require in games. It’s not nice to see someone publicly disagreeing with in-house decisions like Micky van de Ven did.
“Disagreeing in the dressing room or on the training ground is fine, as you want the best for everyone. But to do it publicly is off-putting. It gives the impression that a player is better than the rest. And maybe he is, but that’s not the point. You don’t want to see that.
Johnson also questioned Van de Ven’s suitability for a move to the likes of Liverpool or Manchester United, pointing to Tottenham’s form this season as evidence.
“Van de Ven at Liverpool or Manchester United? There’d probably be a lot of (Tottenham) players that people would want to look at, but the ones they are looking at are still the players who are in this team and in a relegation battle.
“So there would be a couple of gems you could get on the cheap, for sure. But, as I say, if they were that good, they wouldn’t be in this position.”
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