Micky van de Ven has spoken about how he turned down Arne Slot‘s transfer approach when the Liverpool coach was at Feyenoord, while also naming Alexander Isak his toughest Premier League opponent.
Since arriving from Wolfsburg in 2023, the Tottenham defender has been steadily improving and is now among the best defenders in the Premier League.
Slot has long been an admirer and Van de Ven has spoken more about how he turned down his compatriot’s advances when he was choosing between PSV, Wolfsburg and Slot’s Feyenoord.
It was deadline day of 2021 when the young defender left FC Volendam for the Bundesliga, and he had already gained the respect of Slot.
“At that point of deadline day it was the most chaotic day I’ve ever had in my life,” Van de Ven told The Overlap.
“Van Bommel, he was at Wolfsburg. He called me. Slot, he was at Feyenoord.”
Gary Neville interjected: “So you turned down Arne Slot?”
Van de Ven replied: “Yeah.”
Though Neville was surprised, this wasn’t previously unknown information.
• READ: Micky van de Ven reveals Arne Slot transfer interest – ‘Wanted to sign me twice’
Back in February, the 24-year-old explained more: “Slot wanted to sign me for AZ Alkmaar when he saw me play in the first season at Volendam.
“The club refused to sell me and I had to accept that they would not let me go. When he was at Feyenoord, he tried to sign me too, but by then I had already signed for Wolfsburg in Germany.”
Micky van de Ven names Alexander Isak as toughest Premier League opponent
Van de Ven has played 73 times for Tottenham, facing some of the world’s best attackers in that time.
He has now named Isak as the best of them, adding: “So the game we played against Newcastle when we lost, the game I slipped as well.
“But this game Isak was different level, so at this point I was like, ‘He’s a top-class player’.
“I knew he was top class, but this game I was like, [he’s excellent].
“He can run in behind, he can come into the ball and, technically, he’s also really good with the ball. He’s fast, he has a top finish. So at that point, he was literally just like everywhere.”
Van de Ven also has experience on the pitch with Liverpool’s Dutch contingent, Van Dijk in particular whom he plays alongside for the Netherlands.
With Van de Ven playing left-back and Van Dijk at left centre-back, the Tottenham man described their relationship as “good” and said: “I speak with him on the pitch a lot and off the pitch I also speak with him, and I think everybody can see he’s an unbelievable defender.
“It’s always good to play next to him because you can trust and you know what he can do for you and you know what he can bring into the game, so yeah, I have a good relationship with him.”
Van de Ven has missed Tottenham‘s last two meetings with Liverpool through injury – they finished 5-1 and 4-0 to the Reds – so Saturday’s clash will be his first since May 2024.