Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing defender who has ‘incredible’ pace

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Reported Liverpool target Micky van de Ven has been hailed for his simply ‘incredible’ speed.

Van de Ven has been heavily linked with a move to Anfield, as the Reds search for a left-footed defender. For now, it looks like Tottenham Hotspur have jumped ahead of them in the race, but Liverpool haven’t been ruled out of it just yet.

Profiling the 22-year-old ahead of a potential Premier League move today, BBC Sport spoke to the director at Volendam, Van de Ven’s former side in the Netherlands. After coming across the Wolfsburg man as a teenager, it’s clear what stood out to Ruben Jongkind.

“We have a lot of experience with youngsters. We look at strengths and we saw a Cruyffian defender – a lot of risk taking, incredible speed. I have never seen something like that,” Jongkind explains.

“We also saw defensively he [Van de Ven] was a little bit weak, especially in agility, one-on-one defending, heading, some things in the tactical area. They are things we could work on.

“His special weapon was already there. I worked at Ajax with fast players, but this was incredible. That pace was tested in a 60m dash. He ran seven seconds flat. After a training session, with a standing start!”

Liverpool slow down Van de Ven chase

As things stand, it looks unlikely that Liverpool will be bringing Van de Ven’s ‘special weapon’ to Anfield this summer.

The price doesn’t look too bad and the player seems interested. But for whatever reason, the Reds don’t appear to be actively pursuing him.

That’s fine, of course, we tend to trust Liverpool’s judgement in the transfer market. As Jongkind suggests, Van de Ven clearly has some weaknesses to his game.

Perhaps the Reds have simply weighed everything up and decided that there are better targets out there.

One of those targets could be Levi Colwill. Another is perhaps Goncalo Inacio of Sporting. For the time being, we’d suggest that either look better options than Van de Ven.

Nevertheless, Liverpool could still be made to regret it if they don’t push harder for the Dutchman. With Tottenham looking like his most likely destination, he could go on to be a big success in the Premier League.

If Van de Ven does arrive on these shores, then we’ll look forward to seeing his sheer pace, even if it isn’t with Liverpool.