Tottenham Hotspur have secured the services of Wolfsburg centre-half Micky van de Ven in a £34m deal . The highly-rated defender links up with Ange Postecoglou’s side ahead of the upcoming Premier League season, becoming the club’s seventh signing of the summer.

The North Londoners are a club that are seemingly wiping the slate clean under their new Aussie boss, Postecoglou. The ex-Celtic gaffer has recruited shrewdly this summer, and with amends to be made with the Hotspur Way faithful following last term’s dismal returns both domestically and continentally, the acquisition of defensive reinforcements was paramount, so adding a player like Van de Ven to the current roster will go some way to endearing himself and his managerial credentials to supporters.

Like his manager, Van de Ven will also be looking to make an immediate impression at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and will be hoping he can form partnerships with the likes of Christian Romero and Eric Dier that will hopefully cull the 63 goals conceded last term, the sixth most in the division. Standing at a towering 6’4, the hotly-tipped defender arrives in North London as a relative unknown, so, who exactly is Micky Van den Ven?

Stats used are according to Transfermarkt unless stated otherwise.

Who is Micky Van de Ven?

Born in Wormer in the Netherlands in April 2001, Micky van de Ven grew up a stone's throw from the country’s flagship side, Ajax. Despite his proximity to de Godenzonen, it was in fact, Eredivisie side FC Volendam that would notice his talents as an up-and-coming youngster. Joining de Palingboeren in 2013, aged 12, the centre-half would eventually rise through the ranks of the club’s youth setup.

Making the step-up to Volendam’s B team, Jong Volendam, the rapidly improving Van de Ven would rack up 30 appearances for the side by the age of 18. Having earned himself sporadic call-ups to the senior side before then, the Dutchman would finally get the call he had been waiting for at the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign, running out 26 times for Volendam while en-route to the Derde Divisie’s play-offs. The young defender impressively captained the side on 10 occasions, and at just 19 years of age began to make waves in the footballing world.

Thanks to his eagle-eyed compatriot Marc Van Bommel, who spotted the defender plying his trade in the lower echelons of the Dutch football pyramid while managing Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg, the German side made a move for the player during the 2021 summer transfer window. While his maiden campaign in the German first tier was hampered by lack of opportunity and a hamstring injury, making only five appearances all season, the 2022-23 campaign spelled new beginnings for the player who featured in 36 of Wolfsburg’s 37 games last season. One of few Wolves players to play in every minute he was eligible for, Van den Ven was never once substituted while sporting the unmistakable lime green, helping his side to 12 clean sheets.

Following a breakthrough 2022-23 campaign in the German top-flight with the side that gave the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Edin Dzeko, and Ivan Perišić the platform to really propel their footballing careers into the stratosphere, Van de Ven acquired the interest of several potential suitors, with Tottenham being one. The promise of top four challenges, consistent European football, and the avant-garde, state-of-the-art arena the Whites now have in their armoury all proved vital in luring the player to the London Borough of Haringey.

How much is Micky Van de Ven earning?

Van de Ven’s linear progression has meant that his career earnings have changed in-line with his development, and moves from Volendam to Wolfsburg to Spurs. Signing on the dotted line for Postecoglou’s Spurs for a few in the region of £34 million, the centre-back was on £22,000 a week at Wolfsburg (via Capology), with his annual salary coming in at £1.3 million a year. The superior financial nature of the Premier League often means clubs are capable of offering more competitive figures when it comes to contracts, and while his latest contracted earnings at Tottenham are yet to be disclosed, it is likely Van de Ven will be banking significantly more having put pen to paper on a six-year deal.

What can Tottenham fans expect from Micky Van de Ven?

A physically imposing presence, Micky Van de Ven’s stature is deceptive when it comes to his mobility. While his size could certainly have him pigeonholed by that stereotypical trope of being cumbersome, clumsy, and slow, the Netherlands under-21 international is anything but. His rapid speed makes him a vital figure when it comes to defensive recoveries, tracking back, and getting himself around the pitch.

The defender ranked 14th in the entire Bundesliga last term for distance covered per game, running 334km over the course of the season, averaging 10.1km a game. His raw pace certainly doesn’t come at the detriment of his strength, physical prowess, or defensive capacities, having recorded 3.1 clearances a game last term (via WhoScored), and sitting pretty in eighth as one of the Bundesliga’s leaders for blocks.

Described by his former sporting director at Volendam, Ruben Jongkind as a “Cruyffian defender” who has “incredible speed” and is “such a winner and fighter”, the 22-year-old centre-half comes with quite the acclamation.

He told BBC Sport: "We have a lot of experience with youngsters. We look at strengths and we saw a Cruyffian defender - a lot of risk taking, incredible speed, I have never seen something like that. We also saw defensively he was a little bit weak, especially in agility, one-on-one defending, heading, some things in the tactical area. They are things we could work on. His special weapon was already there.

"I worked at Ajax with fast players, but this was incredible. He ran seven seconds flat. After a training session, with a standing start!"

Defensively astute, the player will also be able to seamlessly slot into the Postecoglou approach of progressively building from the back, having recorded the ninth most successful passes from open play, completing an impeccable 90% last season.

With Tottenham’s defensive fragilities plaguing their 2022-23 campaign, as well deficiencies in possessing a ball-playing centre-half, the Spurs faithful will seriously be hoping that the club can turn a corner at the back this season, and will be pinning their hopes on Van de Ven when it comes to delivering that.