The defense is one of the areas of their team that FC Barcelona would be aiming to strengthen this summer. For now, they seem to be focused on addressing the left-back position, but can also land a new center-back, despite the transfer of Alessandro Bastoni being ruled out.
For this purpose, the Catalans are being linked with several players in the market. For instance, they were recently reported to be [interested in the Manchester City-owned Vitor Reis](https://barcanewsnetwork.com/barcelona-weighing-move-for-manchester-city-prospect-after-girona-spell/), who spent the last season on loan with Girona.
Now, it seems like the Blaugranes have set their eyes on another defender from the Premier League, as [Mundo Deportivo](https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/fc-barcelona/20260618/1004196760/ven-ultimo-central-vinculan-barca.html) reports that Barcelona are keeping a close eye on the Tottenham defender, Micky van de Ven.
The Dutchman, who remains a starter for Ronald Koeman in the Dutch national team, has put his renewal talks with the London club on hold. He is considering a move away from Spurs after the very poor 2025-26 they have had.
One of the factors that make the Dutch center-back an interesting option for the Blaugrana side is his ability to play on the left-back position as well, while his height and speed are other prominent features of his game.
Meanwhile, some other European clubs are also interested in the defender. The most prominent of these is Liverpool, who recently signed another player with whom the Catalan side was recently linked with, i.e., the winger Victor Munoz.
The emergence of Gerard Martin as a reliable center-back option has significantly reduced the team’s need to reinforce this area this summer. However, Mikey van de Ven would still be an interesting option to have for Hansi Flick, even though his arrival would mean a surplus of options in the center of the defense, with Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia, Ronald Araujo, Gerard Martin, and Andreas Christensen all already being in the Barcelona squad.