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Jean-Philippe Mateta names the ‘very good’ Tottenham player he hates playing against for one specific reason

Jamie Brown

Sun 1 June 2025 14:15, UK

Jean-Philippe Mateta has been hailing a player from Tottenham Hotspur, whom he’s found is very tricky to play against due to one key trait of his.

Mateta netted against Tottenham Hotspur back in October and featured on both occasions against the North London club as the Eagles did the double over them.

The Frenchman truly announced himself as a top Premier League striker this season after ending the campaign with 14 goals in the Premier League.

Crystal Palace’s striker has been discussing his thoughts on one of Spurs’ top performers this season and revealed why he can be so tricky to face one against one.

Jean-Philippe Mateta hails Micky van de Ven’s speed

Mateta has hailed the speed of Micky van de Ven and labelled the Tottenham defender as a ‘very good’ player.

Van de Ven, who Glenn Hoddle loves, is the fastest recorded player in Premier League history, and his raw speed has earned him the prestige of being one of the league’s best defenders.

Speaking about the Dutch international’s pace, Mateta told the Premier League: “As a striker, you always make the runs. But this guy always comes to take the ball, you know. He’s very good!”

The fastest player in HISTORY is? 🫢 @spursofficial

Van de Ven was superb in the Europa League final as the 24-year-old played such an important role in helping Spurs end their 17-year wait for silverware.

Tottenham fans also praised Van de Ven for his match-winning clearance to deny Rasmus Hojlund a near-certain goal, which would have levelled the score at 1-1.

Son was wowed by Van de Ven’s speed when the defender produced one of the best assists of the season against Man United as he set up Brennan Johnson on the way to a 4-0 win at Old Trafford.

How fast is Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven?

Van de Ven was the only Premier League player to record a top speed of over 37km/h this season as he dominated the leaderboard, as per the .

The Spurs defender became the quickest player ever recorded in the Premier League in 2024 when he hit a top speed of 37.38 km/h against Brentford.

His pace has been such a useful asset for Ange Postecoglou’s high line as it has allowed him to have a defender who can make lightning-quick recovery runs.