Micky van de Ven is one of the most talented and popular players at Tottenham, 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 Vevn has been a revelation. He’s quickly become one of the most important players in the Lilywhites squad, which makes it all the more worrying that van de Ven could leave the club if his contract isn’t sorted out soon.
We won’t worry about that just now, though. Instead, we’ll 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.
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 £42.5m according to Transfermarkt data.
As always with these price tags, it is very likely Spurs would want a lot more for van de Ven if they were to sell him. Given his age, his potential, and the fact he still has a few years left on his contract, you’d probably be looking at closer to £80m or more for Spurs to allow him to leave.
Indeed, it is thought Liverpool would pay £78m for van de Ven, while there has also been talk of him joining Man City. Meanwhile, Barcelona are touted as candidates to sign van de Ven if he does choose to leave Spurs.
His current contract ends in June 2029 and, according to Capology, he’s paid £90,000 per week (or £4.68m per year).
Interestingly, there are quite a few players being paid more than van de Ven at Tottenham. This includes the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, and Mohammed Kudus who are ahead of him on the Spurs wage bill.
Spurs are planning contract talks with the Dutchman, however, who’s considered a crucial part of Roberto De Zerbi’s plans going forwards. Tottenham want to secure a long-term contract with van de Ven who had, previously, signalled an intention to leave.
However, De Zerbi’s arrival is said to have changed the picture for him, as well as the ambition shown in the summer 2026 window.
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.”