Micky van de Ven
CBLB
Netherlands25 years
Showing2026/27 seasonAll official competitions
Preferred Positions
Last 24 months · all competitions
CB
Centre-backMain
5,561 min · 68 apps · 62 starts
LB
Left-back
1,242 min · 15 apps · 15 starts
Squad importance
Current squad importance over the club’s last 40 recorded competitive games in this spell, including previous seasons. Starts and minutes contribute 70%; performance contributes 30%. Absences reduce the score gradually, with less weight when a player is outside the matchday squad.Current role at Tottenham · independent of the season filter
Important
Involvement82%
Performance35%
Through the match on 31 Oct 2026. Refreshed daily.
Profile
Career & playing style
Micky van de Ven is a Dutch centre-back whose speed serves two different purposes: recovering towards his own goal and carrying possession beyond opponents. Left-footed and comfortable bringing the ball out, he offers cover when teammates advance. His recovery running helped Tottenham defend the space behind Ange Postecoglou’s high defensive line.
His development at FC Volendam involved learning when to rely on that speed. Wim Jonk spotted his forward runs in youth football in 2019 and brought him through the reserves into the first team. Jonk worked on his positioning and communication, warning that quick opponents would punish mistakes he could previously recover from.
After joining Volendam’s youth system in July 2013, van de Ven progressed to senior football before moving to Wolfsburg in August 2021. He had limited Bundesliga opportunities in his first season, then became a regular in his second. Tottenham signed him in August 2023, taking him from the Dutch second division to England via Germany.
His assist at Manchester United in September 2024 showed how defending can become an attacking move. He reached a loose ball inside his own half, ran through midfield and crossed from near the byline for Brennan Johnson. The sequence combined an interception, a long carry and a delivery across goal, rather than simply an isolated burst of pace.
A different intervention helped Tottenham win the Europa League in May 2025. With Spurs leading Manchester United 1–0 in the Bilbao final, Rasmus Højlund sent a header towards goal after Guglielmo Vicario failed to gather the ball. Van de Ven cleared it from the line, preserving the lead in a match Tottenham won by that score.
His senior Netherlands debut came against France in October 2023. At the 2026 World Cup he started at left-back against Japan, then also started the round-of-32 match against Morocco. He was substituted before the Dutch conceded a late equaliser; the Netherlands subsequently lost the penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw.
Tottenham announced his appointment as men’s first-team captain in August 2026. He had already worn the armband during the final six matches of the previous season. The appointment added a formal leadership responsibility to a career whose early coaching had included learning to organise the players around him.