Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven supposedly snubbed a transfer move to Liverpool after a conversation his dad had with Ange Postecoglou, where his main priority was made clear
Ange Postecoglou has claimed that Micky van de Ven turned down Liverpool to sign for Tottenham, mainly because he wanted guaranteed game time when leaving Wolfsburg in 2023.
Van de Ven has since been linked with a transfer move to Anfield but had he signed for Jurgen Klopp's side two and a half years ago, he would have been competing with Virgil van Dijk for a place in the starting XI.
"He can be as good as he wants," Postecoglou said. "You watch him at the World Cup, I reckon they will play him left-back and he will be unbelievable once he gets going.
"He is technically good. His ability to cover ground, though, is just phenomenal, mate.
"You would set him up, a lot of teams like to go man for man now. You would set him up against any striker in the world without any fear that he would get outmuscled and definitely not outrun.
"He has got a top mentality too. I remember when we signed him, because I think Liverpool were in for him at the time as well, and I met his dad.
"I mean, I hope I'm not talking out of turn, but he was like Secret Service. I remember him saying to me, he goes, ‘Listen, he has got options, but he is coming here to play, you had better play him’.
"So he has had a really good upbringing and he is not going to get carried away. He works hard on his game, and he is aware."
Van de Ven is said to be stalling on signing a new contract at the moment, with Liverpool among the clubs linked in recent weeks.
"He is top mate," Postecoglou, speaking on The Overlap, which is sponsored by Sky Bet, continued. "He could be as good as anything in terms of what you think about the modern game.
"The physical characteristics are obviously important. He has improved his heading. I still think that is an area where aerially he can get stronger, because he is a big lad there.
"Sometimes his timing is not great, but the rest of his game, very coachable, very coachable."