Micky van de Ven was responsible for one of the five goals Tottenham Hotspur shipped against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.
Liverpool’s search for a new centre-back has inevitably thrown Micky van de Ven’s name back into the mix, with the Tottenham defender repeatedly touted as a potential long-term partner for Virgil van Dijk at Anfield. Recent reports have even suggested the Reds held a “keen interest” in the Dutchman earlier this year as they weighed up options to bolster Arne Slot’s back line.
However, Dominic King of the Daily Mail has poured cold water on talk of Liverpool actively pursuing the Spurs star, insisting on talkSPORT that, while Van de Ven would like a move to Anfield, the feeling is “not totally mutual” from those inside the club right now. King stressed that, as things stand, Liverpool are not expected to push for the 24-year-old this summer, even if they continue to monitor the wider centre-back market.
Even so, the links refuse to go away – and Van de Ven’s mood after Spurs’ latest setback will only fuel the speculation. In the wake of Tottenham’s chaotic defeat to Atletico Madrid, the defender cut a dejected figure as he described the current run as “a doomsday scenario” to Ziggo Sport:
“Terrible, I say very honestly: a doomsday scenario,” he said.
“Everything that could go wrong in the first twenty minutes, goes wrong. Everyone slips away, including myself. Those are moments that you just really can’t do anything about. I can hardly stand here and blame the field.”
The 24-year-old was also sympathetic Anton Kinsky after his error-strewn debut:
“It’s also terrible for him, he makes his debut. You don’t wish this on anyone..”
Finally, the Dutch international, that’s he’s completely done with social media and generally cut a hugely frustrated figure in his post-game comments:
“Of course, I can give the standard talk that we all have to stay together and work hard, but we are now getting hit after hit after hit. It’s just very difficult, we play an important match this weekend that I can’t attend, because of course I’m suspended. But it is really a terrible period. How am I mentally in it myself? It’s tough, I can tell you. Really tough. I have to keep going, this is life. I’m not on my phone anymore, I’m completely done with it. Just family and so on,” Van de Ven concluded.
Those comments can easily be read as the words of a player simply bruised by a brutal spell of form, but to Liverpool supporters they will sound like a defender increasingly fed up with life at Tottenham and ripe for a fresh challenge.
When a player who has already made no secret of his admiration for Liverpool starts talking about a “doomsday” situation and shutting out the outside noise, it inevitably feels like another subtle boost to the idea of a future Anfield move – even if, for now at least, the Reds’ interest appears to be on ice.
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