Tottenham’s Pursuit of Left-Footed Central Defender: Micky van de Ven

Tottenham’s long search for a left-footed central defender has settled on Micky van de Ven, a young Dutchman who was compared to Virgil van Dijk at Wolfsburg last season.

Van de Ven is 22 years old and has just been captain of the Netherlands in the Under-21 Euro Cup. He is tall, strong and very fast, hence the comparisons with Van Dijk. He is tall and strong, with extreme speed, hence the comparisons to Van Dijk, and naturally a left-back.

Wolfsburg have made it clear they want 34.3 million pounds (40 million euros) for the player they signed undercover from the Dutch second division and insist there had been no offer from Spurs until Tuesday, despite that De Telegraaf informs that the personal conditions have already been agreed.

Ange Postecoglou placed a left centre-back among her top priorities when she arrived in north London from Celtic. Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 defense needs a lot of surgery, and the team is looking for two centre-backs.

Postecoglou likes to play with four defenders and at the same time put pressure on his full-backs, which means speedy centre-backs are vital.

Tottenham want to sign the young Dutch defender from Wolfsburg Micky van de Ven.

The 22-year-old has received rave reviews and has been compared to Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.

Clement Lenglet has returned to Barcelona after a year on loan and there are no ongoing talks to revive that deal, while Ben Davies, who has proven reliable on the left side of a three-man defense for Conte, likely lacks the speed to deliver. with the central role in a defense of four.

Last year, Conte wanted to sign Alessandro Bastoni from Inter, but the Italian club refused to negotiate, so Lenglet was brought on as a replacement. This summer, Tottenham have turned their attention to Germany, and Burkina Faso international Edmond Tapsoba at Bayer Leverkusen and Van de Ven to meet the demands of the new manager.

Van de Ven emerged from the youth ranks of Volendam, where he played since he was 12 years old. He made his senior debut at 18, against Jong PSV, and became a key figure in coach Wim Jonk, a former Dutch international, building a successful team.

He was voted the best talent in the Dutch second division following his impressive performances in 2020-21 and quickly became a transfer target for many bigger clubs.

Jonk, an Ajax and Inter star who also spent three years at Sheffield Wednesday late in his playing career, led Volendam to the top flight in 2022 for the first time in 13 years, but Van de Ven had already moved on. .

The young central defender left in August 2021 for Wolfsburg, where Mark van Bommel, another former star in the Dutch midfield, was managing.

Van de Ven demanded a record £3.5m transfer fee from Volendam following a dispute over his wish to leave the club.

I am very happy and proud of the transfer”, he declared then. I have made a lot of progress as a player in the last two years. I am very grateful to the coaches and staff of FC Volendam for this. Without them I would not be here. I’m looking forward to the next step in my career.’

He signed a four-year deal with the Bundesliga club and failed to make much of an impression in his first season at Wolfsburg. Weighed down by a hamstring injury, he only played five games, three of them as a left-back.

In his second season, however, he began to stand out and established himself as one of the best young players in the competition. His last manager, Nico Kovac, normally used him at left-centre in a back four, although he was sometimes part of a back three late in the season.

His performances soon drew admiring glances from wealthier clubs, some of them in the Premier League, including Liverpool, and he extended his contract at the Volkswagen Arena until 2027.

Van de Ven is tall, strong and very fast, and is a natural left-footed centre-back.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou is eager to sign to make his mark on the club.

A great guy, a really good footballer, what he is showing is extraordinary,” Kovac said of Van de Ven, while Marcel Schafer, Wolfsburg’s sporting director, said: “Left-footed, extreme speed, he plays every second. He is a player with enormous potential and this season in particular he has shown incredible development.’

At Wolfsburg they observed a parallel with Maxence Lacroix, another young central defender discreetly signed in 2020 from Sochaux, then in the French second division. Lacroix followed a similar development curve to Van de Ven, taking time to adjust to German football in his first season before impressing in his second.

However, Leipzig turned down a great deal of interest in Lacroix, and as his form faltered, the club realized they had lost their chance to make a big profit. Wolfsburg may be convinced to do business with Van den Ven when demand is high this summer, but they will stick with the 34.3 million pound (40 million euro) valuation.

Wolfsburg successfully held out when Borussia Dortmund came for Felix Nmecha with an initial offer of only half his valuation of 25.7 million pounds (30 million euros). In the end, Dortmund came back, paid full price and signed Nmecha. Tottenham knows what it costs.

2023-07-05 22:22:20
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