Tottenham Hotspur are "not far off" completing a deal for Wolfsburg defender Micky van de Ven with talks suddenly progressing in the last few days, according to journalsit Graeme Bailey.
Who are Spurs signing?
New Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou, despite only officially starting work on Saturday, has already watched his side complete three major deals.
Dejan Kulusevski, who has spent the last 18 months on loan from Juventus, recently completed a permanent move to Tottenham with both goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and playmaker James Maddison following the Swede.
Postecoglou, speaking after the captures of both Maddison and Vicario, professed his joy at the signings and drew particular attention to their elite mentality.
“It’s not just about the talent they bring as footballers," said Postecoglou.
"It’s what they bring as people as well because we are going to play football that requires a certain type of personality and character.
“Both those guys have got it in abundance. I could hear it in their voices when I spoke to them. I had a couple of chats with both of them before we signed them and I knew that they were the right types to bring into the dressing room."
Following on from the aforementioned trio, it is believed Spurs are also closing in on the signing of Israel international Manor Solomon as well, who is due for a medical at Hotspur Way soon.
The former Fulham loanee could soon be joined by a star centre-back, with Spurs pushing to revamp their leaky defence which conceded a poor 63 league goals last season.
Tosin Adarabioyo of Fulham, Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba and van de Ven have been most recently mentioned as top transfer targets for the role.
Reporter Bailey of 90min, sharing news on Twitter, has a promising update on the latter defender, as Spurs talks for van de Ven progress in recent days.
It is believed the Lilywhites are "not far off" agreeing a deal for the 22-year-old who dazzled in the Bundesliga over 2022/2023.
"Tottenham's talks with Wolfsburg over Dutch defender Micky van de Ven have progressed well in last few days. Deal is not far off from being finalised and personal terms not an issue."
What's been said about Micky van de Ven?
The Dutchman has been a pivotal figure under Niko Kovac, especially last campaign, with no other Wolfsburg player making more blocks per 90 than him (WhoScored).
Standing out as a brilliant ball-playing defender, van de Ven averaged the highest pass accuracy percentage (88.3%) of any Wolfsburg regular with more than one start (WhoScored).
The Bundesliga's offical website have also described van de Ven as a lightning quick defender with huge potential, even likening him to Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk.
They wrote:
"Much like Liverpool’s Dutch centre-back, Van de Ven can be a nightmare for attacking players with his immense strength, determination and precision tackling scuppering the most promising of forward moves. With incredible pace and passing ability among his many assets, the Netherlands U21 international – who captained his country at the 2023 UEFA Europan Under-21 Championship – is on course to become a regular for the senior Oranje in the near future."
