Arne Slot Eyes Micky van de Ven as Liverpool Plot Tottenham Hotspur Raid

Liverpool are monitoring Micky van de Ven’s situation at Tottenham Hotspur closely as Arne Slot contemplates whether to exploit the Londoner’s troubles last season by submitting a bid for his fellow Dutchman, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.

With Virgil van Dijk approaching the end of his career on Merseyside and having seen his one-time leading target, Marc Guehi, join Manchester City instead after leaving Crystal Palace, Slot is expected to be in the market for a new centre-half this summer as he looks to future-proof Anfield’s first team squad.

And that, combined with Spurs’ difficulties in the Premier League, has prompted him to explore the possibility of using the lure of European football to prise his compatriot away from north London.

Although Roberto de Zerbi’s employers would demand top dollar for van de Ven, the Reds are prepared to back Slot in the transfer market after seeing injuries undermine their defence of the Premier League title and surrender it to Arsenal. 

With Spurs now recording their second successive 17th-place finish, only surviving on the final day of the campaign, the Netherlands international is likely to be excited by the prospect of competing in the Champions League next term should Slot firm up his interest.

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De Zerbi wants to keep the 25-year-old at Spurs as he tries to transform their fortunes. 

But the Italian accepts that some players, including van de Ven, could now look to reignite their careers by considering opportunities elsewhere.

Also capable of operating at left-back, the former Wolfsburg defender’s versatility is attractive to Slot following Andy Robertson’s decision to leave Merseyside. 

Van de Ven’s prowess at set-pieces is another plus point, with Slot acknowledging after Sunday’s draw with Brentford that they have not been one of Liverpool’s fortes this term.

“Set-pieces are not our thing, lately,” he said. 

“Brentford’s first chance against us came from a throw-in.”

Born in Wormer, van de Ven began his career with Volendam before heading to Germany. After two seasons in Lower Saxony, he then joined Spurs for a fee thought to be worth an initial £34.5m and has made 95 appearances for them since then.