Micky van de Ven is one of the most talented and popular players at Tottenham. He has now added a new chapter to his Spurs story after being named captain. But how much do you really know about the big Dutchman?
On paper, Tottenham should have one of the best defences in the Premier League, with Micky van de Ven, and now the additions of Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi.
Ever since he arrived in North London back in 2023, van de Ven has been a revelation. He’s quickly become one of the most important players in the Lilywhites squad. So, let’s take a deep dive into everything we know about the Tottenham number 37, including why he wears that shirt number, what his top speed is, and how his career has played out so far.
Micky van de Ven’s time at Tottenham explained
Van de Ven joined Spurs from Wolfsburg in the summer of 2023 for a fee of around £34.5m, with add-ons potentially taking the deal closer to £43m.
He made an instant impact under Ange Postecoglou that season, impressing in the first half of the campaign. However, his hamstring injury in that unforgettable defeat against Chelsea spoiled his season and van de Ven’s absence hurt Spurs dearly.
Van de Ven played less games in 2024/25, with more injury issues hampering his progress. However, he was integral to Tottenham’s run to the Europa League final, and made a monumental goalline clearance to effectively win Spurs the trophy.
While van de Ven had issues with Postecoglou when it came to tactics, he was still a crucial and highly respected figure during the Australian’s time at the club.
Van de Ven was at the heart of defence through a difficult 2025/26 campaign for Spurs under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor. Amid struggles on the pitch and tensions with the fans, van de Ven made his own frustrations clear and even clashed with supporters at one point.
The Dutchman was an ever present under Roberto De Zerbi, captaining the side for six of the seven games at the end of the 2025/26 season as Tottenham battled to survival.
From the cusp of an exit to a new contract and captain
Leading into the summer of 2026, there was speculation that van de Ven could be heading for the exit door.
He was being linked with some of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, including Liverpool and Manchester City, with Barcelona also touted as candidates to him should he have decided to to leave Spurs.
Instead, though, the appointment of De Zerbi was said to have changed things, as well as the ambition Tottenham showed in the transfer window. That culminated in a new five-year contract keeping the Dutchman in North London until 2031.
“It’s clear the direction the Club wants to go in,” he said afterwards. “I want to be a part of it. I’m exciting about what’s to come.” De Zerbi, meanwhile, described him as “one of the best centre-backs in Europe” and said the fact he had signed showed belief “in what we are creating together”.
The esteem the Italian holds van de Ven in has been obvious, and even more so after he named him Tottenham captain not so long after the new contract announcement. Van de Ven was handed the armband, along with four vice-captains in Pedro Porro, Ben Davies, James Maddison and Archie Gray.
How fast is Micky van de Ven?
Micky van de Ven is officially the fastest player in Premier League history, clocking a top speed of 37.38 kilometres per hour (or 23.22 miles per hour).
He registered that speed during the 3-2 win over Brentford in January 2024. The record was previously held by Manchester City’s Kyle Walker, who hit a top speed of 37.31 km/h in May 2023.
Comparing van de Ven’s speed to Usain Bolt’s 100m world record, the Spurs man is close, but not quite close enough — Bolt clocked in at 23.35 mph in 2009.
Fans will likely remember seeing a clip online of van de Ven from his Wolfsburg days prior to him joining Spurs, where he raced the length of the pitch to put in a block and prevent a certain goal in an open net.
Micky van de Ven’s market value and contract
Micky van de Ven’s current market value is around £43m according to Transfermarkt data.
His current contract ends in June 2031 and, according to Capology, he’s paid £120,000 per week (or £6.24m per year).
Spurs chant explained
Tottenham fans sing a special song for Micky van de Ven to the tune of ‘Give It Up’ by KC and the Sunshine Band.
You can check it out in the video below, but all you need to know to spark your memory for this one is, the lyrics are: “Na na, na na, na na na na na na na… Micky van de Ven, van de Ven, Micky van de Ven.” Either that made perfect sense to you, or you think we’re talking nonsense.
It’s a song the Spurs fans also used back in the day for Spurs legend Rafael van der Vaart. Must be something about Dutchmen at Tottenham being perfect for this song.
Some Tottenham fans have also utilised the 1981 track ‘Mickey’ by Toni Basil. Pretty self-explanatory that one, given his name.
Where did Micky van de Ven play before Spurs?
Micky van de Ven started his career in his native Holland with WSV 30, before working his way through the ranks at FC Volendam. He joined Wolfsburg in 2021 and spent two years there before moving on to Spurs.
The defender made 86 appearances for Volendam from youth level to the senior team. Incredibly, when he was developing there, he was told he was too slow to make it professionally. Thankfully, he hasn’t let that hold him back, and even used it as inspiration to prove his doubters wrong.
On that, he said: “I still use the [criticism] now. At Volendam there were people who didn’t have the trust in me and now I am standing here. I think I proved them wrong.”
However, it was his move to Germany that really helped him take his game to the next level. At Wolfsburg, van de Ven made 41 appearances, scoring one goal and adding three assists and became one of the most exciting talents in the Bundesliga.
He has started to make an impression at international level since joining Spurs. Van de Ven is a regular in the Netherlands squad, having made his debut in October 2023. He played a bit-part role as his country made it to the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
He then became a mainstay in the Netherlands side as they kicked off their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup. He played three of their four games at the tournament, including playing out on the left of midfield in their 1-1 draw with Morocco in the round of 32.
Ultimately, though, it was not to be for van de Ven and the Netherlands, who were knocked out 4-3 on penalties.
Micky van de Ven’s personal information and family life
Micky van de Ven is very tall, coming in at 1.93m, and he weighs 81kg, making him an imposing physical presence.
He was born in Wormer in the Netherlands on April 19, 2001. In an interview with the club, van de Ven called Wormer his “happy place” and said he loves being there with his family.
His father, Marcel van de Ven was once an undercover agent but is now a popular Netherlands TV personality, becoming the lead detective on Dutch series “Hunted”. Micky has cited his father, mother, and sister as key influences in pushing him to succeed as a footballer.
Van de Ven is on Instagram, where has 1 million followers.
Why does Micky van de Ven wear number 37?
It may be unusual for a first-team player to wear a number like 37, but van de Ven has a good reason for this decision: it is to commemorate a childhood friend of his who passed away.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, van de Ven said: “With a friend of mine, he passed away when we were younger, and it was always his favourite number. So, when I had the opportunity to choose No 37 when I signed for Tottenham. To be honest, it’s for him.”