Wolfsburg star Micky van de Ven has "100%" agreed to personal terms to join Tottenham Hotspur this summer, according to reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Who will Spurs sign?
Ange Postecoglou and Daniel Levy's task before the start of next season, which is just over a week away, is to bring in a top-tier central defender or two after conceding 63 league goals last campaign.
It has been claimed that Spurs want to make two major defensive signings, not including a deal for Blackburn Rovers starlet Ashley Phillips, with there being many linked names over this past month.
Van de Ven, Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen, Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo, Galatasary's Victor Nelsson and Juventus defender Gleison Bremer are just some to have been mentioned by sections of the press.
Postecoglou himself, speaking during Tottenham's pre-season tour of the Far East, confirmed that his new side are in fact actively pursuing new centre-backs this summer.
"That's definitely our intention, absolutely," said the Spurs head coach.
"We've been working on it for a while and we'll definitely try to get it done as quickly as possible.
"I don't think it's any secret about some of the areas we needed to strengthen. Some of it I identified early on. The goalkeeper was one and central defence is another.
"In terms of the other boys, we've got a big squad but my view is I wanted to bring them along and just work with them, get some clarity in my head and give clarity to them."
Van de Ven in particular has been heavily mooted as a top target for Tottenham, and with Spurs already confirming the signings of Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison and Manor Solomon, they could now be closing in on another addition for the summer.
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Romano, taking to Twitter, says the Wolfsburg ace has "100%" agreed to join Postecoglou's side and club-to-club talks are now at an advanced stage.
"EXCLUSIVE: Tottenham are close to reaching an agreement with Wolfsburg for Micky Van de Ven," wrote the journalist.
"Deal advancing to final stages now. There are still details to sort but talks underway — agreement could be done soon. Personal terms, 100% agreed."
How good is Micky van de Ven?
The 22-year-old was a mainstay under Niko Kovac last season with no other Wolfsburg outfielder playing more Bundesliga minutes (WhoScored).
Van de Ven also averaged a better passing accuracy percentage (88.3%) than all of his Wolfsburg teammates with more than one start, highlighting his abilities as an elite ball-playing defender (WhoScored).
Defensively, the young centre-back topped Wolfsburg charts for clearances made per 90, with Kovac heaping praise on one of his top assets.
"Micky is a great boy [and] a really good footballer," said Kovac.
"What he's showing at the moment is extraordinary.”
Meanwhile, the Bundesliga website have praised van de Ven also for his speed and physical attributes.
"Van de Ven can be a nightmare for attacking players with his immense strength, determination and precision tackling scuppering the most promising of forward moves," Bundesliga wrote.
"With incredible pace and passing ability among his many assets, the Netherlands U21 international – who captained his country at the 2023 UEFA Europan Under-21 Championship – is on course to become a regular for the senior Oranje in the near future."
