Tottenham legend reveals verdict on huge Roberto De Zerbi decision after horror start

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Ledley King believes that Micky van de Ven was the right choice to make Tottenham captain despite the club’s struggles this season.

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Spurs find themselves rock bottom of the Premier League table and without a win after five games before the international break.

Despite spending more than £300million over the summer, Tottenham have so far failed to push on after securing Premier League survival on the final day of last season.

As well as a full squad overhaul, head coach Roberto De Zerbi also remodelled his leadership group in the summer, naming Van de Ven captain and World Cup winner Pedro Porro vice-captain.

The decision came after Cristian Romero and Guglielmo Vicario left for Atletico Madrid and Juventus, respectively, while Van de Ven and Porro also both received new contracts.

Van de Ven was widely seen as the standout candidate to take the armband following an improved run of performances after De Zerbi took charge with seven games to go last season.

The Dutchman, though, did struggle at times with the responsibility of the captaincy in Romero’s absence, and those question marks remain after a disastrous start to the new campaign.

Leader: Micky van de Ven was appointed as the new Tottenham captain in the summerGettyAt 25, Van de Ven is a relatively young captain, but former Spurs skipper King said he sees no issue with De Zerbi’s decision to promote the Netherlands international and believes he is growing into the role.

“I think he’s a fantastic player,” King said, speaking at the unveiling of the Hall of Fame installation at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“His new role now is to make the players around him better. I think Micky takes care of himself. His ability to recover and put fires out is something we’ve seen over the last few years. That’s an important element for the team.

“So I think the next role is to manage the group and get the best out of the group as a team. He’s grown into the role.

“Having seen Micky on the pitch, he leads by example, for sure. I think he was the right choice to be captain.”

King was only 24 when he became Tottenham captain in 2005, leading the club until his retirement in 2012 follow a persistent knee injury.

Having come through the academy, King said he had the benefit of knowing the club inside out, but added it is important that Van de Ven does not change as an individual while trying to bring together a squad low on confidence.

“Just because you’ve got the armband on, you can’t change as an individual,” he said. “It was important for me to be myself. But be a little bit more authoritative in doing that.”