If Tottenham Hotspur face the drop this season then Liverpool could take advantage and swoop for one player
Micky van de Ven has been linked with a move to Liverpool in the summer(Image: Getty Images)
Should Tottenham Hotspur face the drop this season, Liverpool must make a move for Dutch defender Micky van de Ven. Spurs currently sit in the relegation zone, two points off West Ham in 17th, after a disastrous campaign.
Following Igor Tudor’s haphazard tenure and subsequent sacking, Roberto De Zerbi has been tasked with keeping Spurs afloat. The Italian will also have to convince the club’s best players that their future remains at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
While not to the same degree, Arne Slot’s side have also struggled this season with an inconsistent and injury-hit backline playing its part. A deal has already been pre-agreed for Jeremy Jacquet to sign from Rennes ahead of the 2026/27 season, but additional defensive reinforcements are still needed.
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Ibrahima Konate’s unresolved future is a concern, Joe Gomez could leave this summer, while Virgil van Dijk will be 35 come the start of next season. Van de Ven, who has been linked heavily with the Reds, has a contract with Spurs until 2029.
According to talkSPORT, the club have slapped a £100 million price tag on the defender. Yet if De Zerbi’s team were to drop into the Championship, the 25-year-old would no doubt be available for a knock-down price.
Is the Spurs ace worth splashing out on? The jury’s out after Van de Ven’s inconsistent season with Spurs. But ex-Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann thinks Liverpool need a player with the pace of Van de Ven.
He said: “We know in football how important pace is going forward… I think Micky van de Ven is one of the quickest, if not the quickest, in the Premier League. So, yeah, he’d certainly be one who’s on the radar.”
Micky van de Ven could be an option for Liverpool if Tottenham get relegated this season(Image: (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images))
Former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood also thinks it’s the logical move for all parties. “Micky van de Ven is the obvious choice for Liverpool this summer in that left centre-back position,” he said.
There are doubts, however. Ex-Liverpool star Dean Saunders has questioned whether Van de Ven possesses the intelligence to make it at Anfield. Past Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has also doubted Van de Ven’s suitability for the Reds.
“When speaking about Micky van de Ven, he is lightning quick, but I have played against defenders like him,” Saunders told aceodds.com. “I have played against the quickest centre-backs in the world, but it was never a problem for me. Being a top defender is all about your brain.
Liverpool will be looking to add to their defence for next season(Image: Getty Images)
“It doesn’t matter being quick if you don’t have the brain. It helps you recover from mistakes, but you shouldn’t make those mistakes to start. I am just not sure if Van de Ven’s football brain is that good and if he can read the game. At this level, everything is about speed of thought.”
Van de Ven is remarkably, and officially, the fastest player in Premier League history, clocking a top speed of 37.38 against Brentford in January 2024.
While he has struggled this season, you would be hard pressed to find a Spurs player who hasn’t. The Dutch international’s aerial duels stand at a respectable 53.62 per cent, while his passing accuracy is a formidable 89 per cent, meaning there would be a lot that Slot could work with.
His seven goals in all competitions this season is one more than Liverpool’s top-scoring defender Virgil Van Dijk and the Spurs centre-back would offer the benefit of having a left-footed central defender in the team.
Van de Ven himself also seems to be fond of his potential suitors. Speaking in June 2023, shortly before his £43m move to Spurs, he told Voetbal International: “It’s true that the director (then Liverpool sporting director Jorg Schmadtke, previously worked for Wolfsburg) went there and I know that Liverpool followed me before. But at the moment, I don’t know anything. Do I think Liverpool is a nice club? Naturally.”
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