Who is Micky van de Ven? Tottenham Hotspur finally have their man in Micky van de Ven, as they look to hand Cristian Romero a new central defensive partner in Ange Postecoglou’s formation. But who is the rapid 22-year-old from Wolfsburg?
Name: Micky van de Ven
Age: 22-years-old
Place of birth: Wormer, Netherlands
Current club: VFL Wolfsburg
Former clubs: FC Volendam, WSV 30
Nationality: Netherlands
International appearances: 8 caps at Under 21 level, 0 goals (Transfermarkt)
Club appearances: 129 appearances, 5 goals (Transfermarkt)
Micky van de Ven career stats
Despite being just 22 years old, Micky van de Ven was a mainstay in the Wolfsburg backline last term and played every single minute of 33 out of the 34 Bundesliga matches last season.
After joining Wolfsburg in the summer of 2021, van de Ven took some time to establish himself in the team and was hampered by a hamstring injury which kept him out for a good chunk of that season.
However, the young defender bounced back in style in the 2022/23 campaign. Thanks to FBRef’s Bundesliga stats for last season, we can see that Micky van de Ven ranked sixth overall for percentage of dribblers tackled, with an impressive 71.8% putting him slightly above another Spurs target, Edmond Tapsoba.
And, as we mentioned before, van de Ven played a lot of football last year. In fact, he racked up 2970 minutes in the Bundesliga, and only six players in the whole league can say they played more than that.
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The strengths and weaknesses of Micky van de Ven
To put it simply, Micky van de Ven is very, very fast. The left-sided centre-half was actually the ninth-fastest player in the entire Bundesliga last season, which is mightily impressive for a defender.
According to official Bundesliga statistics, van de Ven recorded a top speed of 35.97 km per hour.
We all know Tottenham Hotspur could do with a little more pace in their defence, so van de Ven could well be the perfect solution to that problem in the left-sided centre-back role.
The 22-year-old is also a dominant presence in the air, and often uses his great physicality to get the better of his opponents in 1v1 situations.
All players have their downsides, however, and van de Ven can sometimes be guilty of rushing into a challenge. He is especially prone to going to ground and over-reaching in his slide tackles, which can lead to high-risk situations.
If we were to be really picky, it’s worth noting that the Dutchman is very rarely involved in any kind of progressive play, preferring to keep things very simple when he looks for a pass.
What are people saying about Micky van de Ven?
Micky van de Ven is expected to have a “big future” at international level, according to Neil Jones for Caught Offside. Jones also highlights just how “physically imposing” the defender is, and has recommended him as a signing Liverpool should make this summer.
Football writer Ted Todorovic took some time to assess the qualities of van de Ven in a Twitter thread recently, and was particularly impressed by the “tactical versatility” the Netherlands star brings to Wolfsburg. Todorovic claims van de Ven has the potential to be “one of the most complete defenders in Europe.”
ESPN journalist Tor-Kristian Karlsen was a big fan of what he saw from van de Ven in a recent Under-21 game, highlighting the player’s “aura of calm and authority,” and described him as a “clever” and “rapid” defender.
What do The Spurs Web think?
There is no doubt Micky van de Ven is one of the most exciting young defenders in Europe and we would be foolish not to try and bring him in this summer.
He may not be quite as experienced as our other targets, but his potential is through the roof and at his current trajectory, he is likely to be one of the very best centre-backs in world football within the next five years.
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