Liverpool pull plug on deal for Man Utd target after Dutchman says yes to Anfield move | OneFootball

Liverpool are ‘not actively pursuing’ a deal to sign Tottenham and Netherlands defender Micky van de Ven despite reports to the contrary.

The Reds made their first signing of the Andoni Iraola era on Thursday as the Premier League club announced that they had agreed to sign Victor Munoz from Osasuna.

Liverpool sacked Arne Slot after the Dutchman could only guide the Reds to fifth place in the Premier League in a trophyless season, as they failed to get near the performances which saw them win the title a year earlier.

And now Liverpool are looking to give new head coach Iraola all the tools he needs to challenge for major honours again next campaign.

One position they are looking to strengthen is at centre-back after losing Ibrahima Konate, who is joining Real Madrid on a free transfer.

Liverpool do still have Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni but the Reds are looking for more experience at the heart of their defence.

The Reds, as well as Manchester United, have been heavily linked with a move for Tottenham defender Van de Ven with rumours he could be on the move this summer.

Ben Jacobs insisted that Man Utd’s interest was mainly reserved for if Tottenham got relegated, while Van de Ven would prefer a move to Liverpool.

Speaking before the end of the season, reliable journalist Ben Jacobs said about Van de Ven on The United Stand: “Micky van de Ven, they (Manchester United) won’t make an approach unless Tottenham go down.

“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.

“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.”

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf insisted earlier this week that Liverpool and Barcelona had ‘knocked on the door’ at Tottenham to get information on Van de Ven.

However, Jacobs’ colleague at talkSPORT, Alex Crook, has now revealed that Liverpool have pulled the plug on a deal for Van de Ven for the time being.

Crook wrote on X: ‘#LFC are not actively pursuing Micky van de Ven at this moment.’

Van Hecke agreement could impact Van de Ven

Tottenham are set to sign Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton this summer after striking a £52m ‘agreement’ and ex-Man Utd chief scout Mick Brown reckons that could have an impact on Van de Ven’s future.

Brown told Football Insider: “Van De Ven’s future is still up in the air.

“It’s an area Tottenham are going to have to assess because there are doubts about [Cristian] Romero too, and whether he could move on.

“Van Hecke is somebody they’ve admired for a while, and I’ve always liked the look of him at Brighton, I think he’s really stepped up in recent years.

“At first, I thought he was a bit of a typical work-a-day centre-half, but he’s shown he can be more than that and that has impressed Tottenham.

“So let’s say they make a move for him, that changes things with Van de Ven, because all of a sudden they’ve got another option in the door.

“Liverpool will be keeping a close eye on what’s happening there, because Konate is going to leave, so they’ll need a new centre-back.

“There are a lot of moving parts, but we know Liverpool have been keen on Van de Ven, and if they are given any indication he could be available, they could make a move.

“If Tottenham are signing a new centre-back, then it might play right into their hands.”