New Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou could be in line to receive vitally important defensive reinforcements in the coming days after Spurs have made progress with plans to move for VfL Wolfsburg and Dutch U21 international center-back Micky van de Ven.
The 22-year-old highly-touted former FC Volendam academy product is coming off a superb 2022-23 campaign at the Volkswagen Arena, with some considering the Dutchman to have been one of the top-performing center-backs in the Bundesliga.
Tottenham are advancing in talks with Wolfsburg for Micky van de Ven — told the agreement between clubs is now close. 🚨⚪️ #THFC
Negotiations are underway and talks on Monday were really positive, waiting for key details. More to follow. pic.twitter.com/dwm6GQDr4m
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 10, 2023
According to football insider Fabrizio Romano, Spurs are close to reaching a full agreement with Die Wölfe for the central defender after negotiations earlier today were said to be “really positive.”
Postecoglou may be confident with his options at full-back through Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, but the situation in the heart of the defense is far more uncertain. Apart from Cristian Romero, Tottenham’s options are miles away from their biggest domestic rivals, but in Van de Ven, Spurs could be acquiring a defensive gem.
Per a report from BBC Sport last week, Volendam director Ruben Jongkind, who was formerly head of talent development at Dutch giants Ajax, saved Van de Ven from being moved on from the Erste Division side after spotting him in the club’s U19 set-up before immediately classing him as a diamond in the rough.
“We look differently.” said Jongkind, “We have a lot of experience with youngsters. We look at strengths and we saw a Cruyffian defender – a lot of risk-taking, incredible speed, I have never seen something like that. We also saw defensively he was a little bit weak, especially in agility, one-on-one defending, heading, some things in the tactical area. They are things we could work on.”
🎥 Micky van de Ven is rapid…
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— SpursOTM (@SpurOTM) July 3, 2023
“We absolutely believed in his abilities. We have worked with Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Sergino Dest, Toby Alderweireld, Sven Botman, good defenders. We knew the level he could reach potentially. That is basically the same trick we did at Ajax between 2010 and 2016 – to see the strength of the players, the potential and help them develop in the right environment.”
“We worked a lot on him. He gained 10kg, tactically he became much stronger. Mentally he was already strong but he gained a top-sport mindset, training hard and taking care of himself. His heading improved a lot, technically he improved.”
Wolfsburg sporting director Marcel Schafer said of Van de Ven “Left foot, extreme speed, plays every second. Incredible development.” Manager Niko Kovać was also full of praise for the Wormer-born center-back, stating “Micky is a great boy, a really good footballer.”
But once again, it is Jongkind that sums up the player in a way that will no doubt have Spurs fans feeling excited. “He is such a winner, a fighter, he doesn’t want to lose, never, he will give everything. Off the pitch, he is growing as well. He was very young when he was with us and also needed to develop his personality off the pitch, you need that when you play in the Premier League.”
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