Khalid Boulahrouz is confident that Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven is the right candidate to replace Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool.
Boulahrouz represented Chelsea, VfB Stuttgart, Sporting and others during his playing career. He has also played for Netherlands between 2004 and 2012.
ESPN NL spoke to the former defender to discuss Van de Ven’s rise at Tottenham and the Liverpool star.
The 24-year-old mainly operates in the heart of defence for the north London club. He and Cristian Romero are the first-choice centre-backs for Spurs. Boulahrouz is pleased with the Netherlands international’s performances for Tottenham and his country.
“He really stands out. He’s physically strong and incredibly fast. Opponents know that, so they don’t even try to get past him anymore. He could be better on the ball sometimes; he makes the occasional mistake. But overall, I think he’s fantastic,” he said,
For the Netherlands, Ronald Koeman has mainly used Van de Ven as a left-back. Arsenal’s Jurriën Timber has partnered the Liverpool captain in the middle of Ornaje’s defence in recent months.
Tottenham player is “ideal successor”
Van Dijk, 34, has a contract at Liverpool until 2027.
According to Boulahrouz, Van de Ven is the ideal target to take his compatriot’s place at Liverpool and with the Netherlands. He’s encouraged Arne Slot’s side to spend money to take the defender away from Tottenham.
“I think he’s the ideal successor to Virgil van Dijk, both for the Dutch national team and Liverpool,” Boulahrouz explained.
“The question is, of course, what Virgil will do after the World Cup. When you’ve been playing in the Premier League for years, your body has taken a beating. You might start longing to take it a bit easier.
“And Liverpool is not crazy: if you’re looking for a world-class left defender and you have enough money, you’ll quickly end up with Van de Ven.
“The same goes for the Dutch national team. I think Koeman has long since realised that Van Dijk’s successor is already there.”
Van de Ven’s contract expires in 2029 and recent claims from the UK have reported that Tottenham want to offer him an extension.