Report: Virgil van Dijk told Tottenham star to sign for Liverpool instead

Fresh reports of Liverpool’s interest in Micky van de Ven over the summer have emerged, and it seems Virgil van Dijk was eager to get the player to move to Anfield before Spurs swooped to sign the young Dutchman.

Micky van de Ven has been one of the signings of the Premier League season thus far, and has taken no time at all to settle into the backline for Ange Postecoglou‘s side.

Most notably, van de Ven formed a fantastic partnership alongside Cristian Romero, even helping to bring out a calmer side in the Argentinian this term.

Sadly, the 22-year-old pulled up with a hamstring injury in the defeat to Chelsea, and looks likely to be out of action until the New Year.

That leaves the Spurs defence massively exposed and needing to rely on the likes of Eric Dier for cover. Judging by the manner of the defeat against Wolves in their last game, Spurs will be desperate for van de Ven to return.

LUTON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 07: Micky van de Ven of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Luton Town and Tottenham Hotspur at Kenilworth Road on October 07, 2023 in Luton, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

Van Dijk told van de Ven to choose Liverpool

There is a timeline in which Spurs would have never gotten their man however, as TEAMtalk reveals Virgil van Dijk told his young compatriot to choose Liverpool instead.

Tottenham eventually snapped up the 22-year-old in a deal which could rise to £43m (Sky Sports), but van Dijk had spoken to van de Ven before the switch to convince him to become his new defensive partner at Liverpool.

Ultimately, “Spurs moved faster” and were able to “close the deal” for van de Ven before Liverpool could intervene.

There is also a belief that van de Ven chose Spurs as he wanted to play first-team football more regularly and believed this was more likely in North London than at Liverpool (Miguel Delaney).

Spurs Web Opinion

I remember hearing at the time that Liverpool were looking at van de Ven and I was so worried we were going to miss out. Thankfully we got him, and we could have one of the world’s best centre-half partnerships on our hands if both he and Romero continue to develop the way we hope they will.