He’d arrived at White Hart Lane with a real reputation as a goalscoring defender but Jan Vertonghen took some time to find his feet in the Premier League. Costing Tottenham in excess of £10m, the Belgian had racked up 21 goals and eight assists in the previous four seasons at Dutch outfit Ajax and was Andre Villas-Boas’ second signing since taking over the reins from Harry Redknapp last summer:
The Statistics
Vertonghen’s eye for goal had a real impact on his starting cost across the Fantasy games. In his debut season for the north London outfit, the versatile 26-year-old was slapped with a 6.5 price tag in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), a clear reflection of his attacking performances prior to arriving on these shores.
After 16 league appearance, however, Fantasy faith had started to flounder. Vertonghen had found the net just once and with a single assist and two clean sheets also accrued over that period, his appeal took a real nosedive as we scoured the market for better value defensive options. As the season unfolded, though, the Belgian steadily picked up in performance and served up double figure hauls against both Liverpool and Swansea in March, despite failing to keep a clean sheet on either occasion.
By the time the campaign came to a close, Vertonghen had found the net five times – joint-top goalscoring defender along with Leighton Baines and Branislav Ivanovic – and fourth highest scorer for Villas-Boas’ side. With three assists, nine clean sheets and 12 bonus points also thrown in, he ended the season on 136 points – fifth top of the FPL defender standings and second only to Gareth Bale at the north London club.
The Prospects
A key member of the Tottenham first-team, Vertonghen missed just four league games last term, with his versatility also affording Villas-Boas the option of utilising him at left-back on a number of occasions. With the likes of William Gallas set to depart the Lane on a free transfer, it’s likely that Younes Kaboul, Michael Dawson and Steven Caulker may tussle it out for the remaining centre-back role alongside the Belgian, with Villas-Boas utilising two of the aforementioned trio when moving Vertonghen to full-back.
Certainly, his exploits from the previous campaign mean his price across the Fantasy games won’t drop – indeed, a shift to 7.0 in FPL wouldn’t be surprising. In terms of the Tottenham defence, much will depend on Villas-Boas’ plans; if Kyle Naughton ousts Benoit Assou-Ekotto in the left-back pecking order, he could offer a cut-price option, while Kaboul is set to drop in price after injuries limited him to a single appearance last time out. Although an upturn in defensive resilience at the Lane would certainly boost the value of Tottenham’s cheaper assets, it would also increase Vertonghen’s appeal further – his attacking exploits helped him finish a full 22 points clear of Kyle Walker, the second highest scoring Spurs defender last time out.
With David Moyes’ move to Man United raising question marks over both Leighton Baines and Patrice Evra, and with a new manager at Chelsea also bringing the game time of Ivanovic and David Luiz up for debate, the number of reliable premium priced defenders with the ability to serve up explosive points hauls could be restricted next time round. Vertonghen’s consistency of game time and strong form towards the end of the last campaign suggests he could be a major player in 2013/14 – with a season in the Premier League now behind him, he may even be ready to battle it out for a place at the summit of the defender standings across the Fantasy games.
