Green light as £90m defender wants Liverpool move | OneFootball

Liverpool are planning to continue their centre-back shakeup this summer.

Sporting director Richard Hughes kickstarted the process last year - paying £26m to Parma for Giovanni Leoni.

Further deals have followed for Mor Talla Ndiaye, Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Jeremy Jacquet - but there could be an experience gap opening up over the next 12 months or so.

Virgil van Dijk is out of contract in 2027 - as is Joe Gomez - while Ibrahima Konate still hasn’t put pen to paper on his new contract.

And although Liverpool have signed plenty of young centre-back talent of late there is a sense that a senior option should be sourced.

Liverpool linked with Micky van de Ven

Arne Slot favourite Micky van de Ven has been linked with a move to Anfield over the last year or so. The 25-year-old - who Slot tried to sign for both AZ and Feyenoord - joined Tottenham back in 2023 from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.

The left-footer has since developed into a top-quality Premier League centre-half - even if he hasn’t enjoyed the best of seasons for his relegation-threatened club.

Van de Ven is stalling on a new deal - with his current terms up in 2029 - and it would be no surprise to see Spurs having to deal with bids this summer.

He has been valued at £90m by his club per a report in TEAMtalk.

Van de Ven wants Liverpool move

And Ben Jacobs has now declared that the Netherlands international has got a preference to move to Anfield - but reminds fans that the Reds have not yet officially got involved in the transfer chase.

“If Tottenham stay up, I think Micky van de Ven will likely sign a new deal, but a bit like Senesi, quite an open situation,” he told the United Stand.

“I have said before on the show, if Liverpool enter that race, Van de Ven would want to join Liverpool, but they haven’t entered that race.

“So, let’s kind of be a bit patient on that one because Van de Ven is only focused on trying to keep Tottenham up at this stage.

“From what I gather, he really enjoys playing under Roberto De Zerbi, but he’s not necessarily the kind of player that wants to drop into the Championship, even if he likes the manager.”

Arne Slot would welcome Van de Ven

Van de Ven would be welcomed with open arms by head coach Slot - while he would also find plenty of Dutch international colleagues already at the club.

Van Dijk, Jeremie Frimpong, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch are well-established in the Liverpool first-team squad and it would take no time for Van de Ven to make himself at home.