Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of defender Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg in a deal approaching £43million (€50m) including add-ons.
Spurs have been in talks to sign Van de Ven since last month and a breakthrough came last week. He has now signed a six-year contract with the north London club and will wear the number 37.
Van de Ven was at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for his new side’s pre-season friendly against Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday and was seen taking pictures with fans.
The Netherlands Under-21 international made 36 appearances for Wolfsburg last season, helping them to an eighth-placed Bundesliga finish. He joined the German club from Volendam in the Netherlands in the summer of 2021.
Van de Ven becomes Tottenham’s fifth summer arrival, following Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison, Manor Solomon and Ashley Phillips.
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50 to watch – Micky van de Ven: Uncompromising defender would bring speed and strength to Spurs
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Analysis from The Athletic’s Seb Stafford-Bloor
Part of his reputation comes from his physical stature. He’s 6ft 3in (191cm), broad-shouldered and, in 2022-23, the Bundesliga ranked him as the quickest centre-back in the German top flight.
Running speed statistics shouldn’t always be taken literally but in this case, they do describe the athlete; outrunning him would be like to trying to evade that big rock rumbling after Indiana Jones in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.
He’s been largely excellent for Wolfsburg and it’s not unreasonable for him to be deemed an option for RB Leipzig, should they sell the mighty Josko Gvardiol this summer.
These are not impressions formed only from youth tournaments and theory. Van de Ven authored a strong body of work at Wolfsburg last season.
(Photo: Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
