Micky van de Ven joined Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023 from VfL Wolfsburg for a €40m fee and looked to be a young centre-back to lead the club into the future at the time of his signing.

Now, it’s looking unlikely he will stay past this season, especially if Spurs face relegation.

In this Micky van de Ven scout report, we will take a look at the roles Micky van de Ven has been playing this season, strengths, weaknesses and which club he could fit better should he look for a move away.

Micky Van De Ven Strengths & Weaknesses

A few characteristics can clearly be classified as Micky van de Ven’s strong suits.

Availability and fitness are two of his biggest strengths.

The 2024/2025 season was when he had the most injuries, missing 134 days, but every other season has generally been very healthy.

Physically, he is a commanding, modern centre-back who is very rapid and an elite ball carrier at the position.

A major issue in his game as a centre-back is that he is not aerially dominant.

Even at 6’4″, he does not show any advantage when he jumps; this is a major flaw for a centre-back. 

His tackling success is also quite inconsistent, with a 45.2% win rate this season.

Micky Van De Ven In Possession

Micky van de Ven is left-footed and best suited to the LCB role in a back-three formation like the one currently used at Spurs, given his speed and ball-playing ability.

In this area of the pitch, he can play into those wide players and make runs into the space if given the opportunity, like we are going to see here.

He lays off the pass and sees the space in behind.

Because of his speed, he can exploit that space in a one-two passing sequence.

This is just a show of his intelligence in the LCB role, and when he sees open space, he takes the opportunity.

Micky van de Ven is best used out wide in the build-up.

He looks for the diagonal runs from his teammates, and he can play those long balls over the top.

We can see it again, he’s better used out wide in that LCB role and can break the lines with his passing.

He does not often play the perfect forward pass, but he is a forward-thinking, ball-playing centre-back, and he’s not scared to take a risky pass.

The best use of his ball-playing ability is going to be out wide, even if it means playing as the left back in a back four; he will be better used there than the LCB in a back four.

Centrally, he is more limited and prone to mistakes.

When he can get the ball when the team switches the play quickly enough, he’s definitely going to make a leap forward into that space.

It’s less about elite technique and more about his speed, which makes him a good ball carrier.

As we see below, his speed carries him across the entire pitch, where he’s essentially started a counterattack all on his own.

In a system that seeks to switch the ball constantly, he can be of great use.

If he gets the ball on that switch, he will have a spark.

He averages 16 carriers per 90, with 0.5 into the final third, and a 52.9% take-on %.

Micky Van De Ven Out Of Possession

Out of possession, Micky van de Ven is quite aggressive, and at times, this isn’t a great part of his game.

As we see here, Micky van de Ven sees an opportunity to move up and try to win the ball back in a duel, but his speed and tunnel-visioned aggressiveness push him forward without a thought process.

The opponent, who is more technically gifted and can slow his acceleration, can simply pause for a moment and throw Micky van de Ven off balance.

We see the outcome: the opponent takes that pause, moves to the side, and Micky van de Ven, with his speed and aggressiveness, runs past, essentially a moving pilon.

His aggressiveness is strong, and we will look at more of it later, but he needs to learn when and how to slow down.

When at Spurs, he’s given the freedom to move in and out of the backline.

When he sees the opportunity to move up and close down space or get close to an opponent player and try to win the ball back, he takes the opportunity.

That’s great, but you need to time those movements into midfield correctly.

One of his biggest issues out of possession is his defensive lapses.

Like here, he moves up from the backline.

Now, the space behind is open, and the Liverpool player is looking to run into that space, all while Micky van de Ven is oblivious to that run being made right behind him.

When he times his runs into midfield, Micky van de Ven is dangerous.

There’s a real opportunity for Spurs to win the ball back in a dangerous position and start the counterattack.

His physicality and speed catch opponents very off guard.

He averages 1.4 interceptions per 90.

At times, his aggressiveness and physicality overpower the opponent, who is trying to move the ball technically, and isn’t ready to put his body on the line the same way.

Some may see this as an issue in Micky Van de Ven’s game, but I see it as a positive.

The risk-to-reward is worth it.

The risk is a foul and giving the opponent the chance to reset and have a set-piece; the reward is a dangerous counterattack that completely catches the opponent off guard.

When you balance this risk: reward, the reward looks better.

His 1v1 duel defending is scary for the attacking player.

He is very similar to Virgil van Dijk in how he gives the opponent space and then moves in quickly when he senses you are too far from the ball, like we see here versus Bukayo Saka.

This is one of the examples of him timing his tackle correctly, unlike the first image of him being left in the dust.

Possible Club Fits For Micky Van De Ven

Possible club fits would be those who are either in a back-three system or shift their midfield to allow the left back to take on an inverted role without moving too high up, like an attacking full-back.

There are three clubs here that come to mind as possible fits: Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.

Barcelona

Barcelona are heavy on their high line, which Micky van de Ven could fit into with his speed, but they could also play him as a left-back who can shift in and out of midfield defensively while playing those passes into their creative wingers.

In a league that isn’t as quick as the Premier League, he can even take up the LCB role in a back four, but, as mentioned before, on the width, you will get the most out of him on the ball.

Inter Milan

Inter Milan have a back-three setup that is very disciplined; here, he can fit in perfectly next to someone like Federico Dimarco as the wing-back, playing one-two passes but also adding defensive strength to their defence next to Alessandro Bastoni, who is also a great ball player.

This could make Inter Milan a top-three backline in the world for ball-playing.

Bayern Munich

The final possible suit is Bayern Munich, given Micky van de Ven already has Bundesliga experience from his Wolfsburg days.

Bayern Munich can play a back-four or a back-three; in either case, Micky van de Ven can fit in.

In a back four, which they have been playing more recently, he can provide a little more from the left-back area, and this can provide a foundation for someone like Joshua Kimmich to make creative passes higher up the pitch.

These three look to me like the best options if he were to jump ship.

Conclusion

Micky van de Ven’s future at Spurs isn’t certain, with managerial changes this season, a lack of desire to even win games as they face potential relegation, and it looks as though he’s sulking his way to the end of the season.

Jumping ship looks like the better move for his career at this point.

He is still young at 24, but there are better opportunities and clubs that can help him reach his full potential.