Liverpool: How Micky van de Ven compares to Virgil van Dijk amid 'keen' Tottenham transfer interest

Liverpool's Dutch revolution is seemingly showing no signs of slowing down, and Arne Slot may reportedly turn to a Premier League rival to bring yet another compatriot to the home of the - current, at least - champions.

The title-winning boss has Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Jeremie Frimpong at his Anfield disposal, but he is said to have identified a possible long-term successor to the former in the shape of Micky van de Ven.

Reports have claimed that the Merseyside giants are keen on signing the Tottenham Hotspur centre-back, who has three-and-a-half years left to run on his contract but has resisted signing an extension amid Spurs' plight under Thomas Frank.

A centre-back of Van de Ven's quality warrants Champions League football, which fourth-placed Liverpool are currently on course to achieve, and this potential transfer is certainly one to watch for the summer.

Van Dijk will soon turn 35, Ibrahima Konate is increasingly likely to leave on a free transfer, and the injury-hit Joe Gomez could also follow the Frenchman out of the exit door when the campaign ends.

Van de Ven would be a more natural replacement for Van Dijk, though, and here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth statistical look at how the two compatriots compare, using data from Sofascore, FBref and WhoScored.

Virgil van Dijk vs. Micky van de Ven: Defending

There is little disparity between Van Dijk and Van de Ven's minutes in the 2025-26 Premier League season; the Liverpool skipper has played 22 games to Van de Ven's 21 and has completed just 101 more minutes than the Spurs speedster.

However, with Tottenham languishing in the bottom half and Liverpool pushing for the top four, it comes as little surprise to learn that Van de Ven boasts more tackles and interceptions per game than his more senior counterpart.

Van de Ven averages 1.1 tackles per match to Van Dijk's 0.6 and 0.9 interceptions compared to Van Dijk's 0.7, but the latter has made significantly more clearances this term, averaging 7.4 per game to Van de Ven's 4.1.

Furthermore, there is no data on Van Dijk being dribbled past in the 2025-26 Premier League, but Van de Ven is beaten 0.2 times per game on average, and there is also only one winner when it comes to aerial duels.

Van Dijk has won a staggering 77.1% of his aerial battles at an average of five per game, compared to just 41.2% and 1.3 per game for Van de Ven.

The former Southampton stalwart also trumps Van de Ven on ground duels, winning 75% of those contests to the latter's 60.6%.

Virgil van Dijk vs. Micky van de Ven: Passing

Van Dijk is consistently hailed as a wonderful passer of the ball, but the 34-year-old only just about trumps Van de Ven in this particular section.

Indeed, the Spurs defender has completed 89.6% of his passes in the 2025-26 Premier League season, compared to 90% for Van Dijk, which is even more impressive when the next piece of context is taken into account.

The Liverpool captain averages far more passes per game than Van de Ven - 80.9 to 54.1 - and he will spray a cross-field ball or long punt upfield more often, recording 4.3 long passes per match in the 2025-26 Premier League, while Van de Ven is down at 2.2.

The Liverpool man also boasts more expected assists with 0.61 to 0.30, but Van de Ven is the only one to actually claim an assist in the current top-flight season, setting up Ben Davies against Sunderland.

Virgil van Dijk vs. Micky van de Ven: Attacking

The Liverpool recruitment team should not pay too much attention to the attacking metrics when deciding whether to pursue Van de Ven, but much has been made of Van Dijk's ability in both boxes during his time at Anfield.

However, Van Dijk is still waiting for his first Premier League goal of the campaign, whereas Van de Ven already has three to his name - two headers and one right-footed strike vs. West Ham United.

The Tottenham defender has also out-performed his Expected Goals total of 2.12, while Van Dijk has under-performed his of 0.92, already missing three big chances in the 2025-26 Premier League.

Liverpool's inspirational skipper has taken one more shot in the top flight this season - 13 to Van de Ven's 12 - but only four of those have landed on target, compared with the latter's five.