14 hours Ago By [email protected] (Simon Mullock)
Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven reckons he might now be playing for Liverpool had Kop boss Arne Slot managed to sign him earlier in his career. Van de Ven has revealed how Slot failed with bids to take him to both AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord - only for circumstances to conspire to put the Dutch centre-back on a different career path to the Premier League . The 23-year-old was forging a reputation at Volendam when the coach who has taken Liverpool to the top of the Premier League came calling - but he failed to land his target both times.
Van de Ven explained: “Arne Slot wanted to sign me for AZ 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.
“Do I think I would be playing for Liverpool now if I would have joined Slot at Feyenoord? That would have been some kind of fate. Slot is doing really well. Liverpool is now a fantastic team and he is showing again what a brilliant coach he is.
Every player who has worked under Slot, will tell you great things about him. In the few talks I had with him at the time, I got a great feeling about his managerial style, his coaching and his ideas in football. He really, really sees the game well.
” Van de Ven’s route to the Premier League took him to Spurs in a £42million deal in the summer of 2023 - and the Dutchman has vowed to end the club’s 17-year trophy drought. But Ange Postecoglu’s team must get past Liverpool in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final this week - and the defender has revealed how Holland team-mate and Kop captain Virgil van Dijk has become a mentor. He said: “I really would not mind playing next to Virgil in defence.
He is such a fabulous defender and doing great at Liverpool. I learn a lot from him. When we've played against Liverpool with Tottenham , Virgil still gives me tips after the game! He says things like; ‘maybe you could have done this or that’ in certain situations.
It shows he wants to help me improve my game.” Spurs hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg, and Van de Ven told Dutch magazine Helden: “Ange Postecoglu told me about the history of Spurs and that they have never won a trophy. “He said ‘I am going to change that and I want you to be part of my plans.
’ I love it in London and I love Spurs as a club. I won’t rest till we have won a trophy. The fans and the club deserve that.
“I know people say, when you sign for sSpurs you never win trophies. But it will happen - and it is up to us now to shut all those mouths. We won’t win the Premier League this season, but we are still in the FA Cup , the League Cup and the Europa League .
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