Real Madrid sniffing around center-backs? Not surprising. They do it all the time. What’s a little more interesting is the club’s current focus: Micky van de Ven, the young Dutch defender who has been turning heads since his move to Tottenham in 2023. The gist is simple: Madrid are thinking long term. They’re planning for a future where veterans step aside and fresh, athletic defenders take over. Van de Ven fits that sketch — though, as always, it’s more complicated than a single label.
He arrived from Wolfsburg and, honestly, made an immediate mark. There’s pace, sure, but it’s the combination of recovery speed, reading of the game, and the calmness on the ball that gets people talking. He’s not just a runner — he can also play through pressure, which matters a lot for a team that likes to control possession from the back. With Cristian Romero beside him at Spurs, he’s formed a partnership that looks steady. Or at least steady enough to make Madrid sit up and take notes.
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Why Real Madrid might want him
Look at Madrid’s backline today and you see a mix of experience and scouting bets. Players like David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger have been crucial, but they’re closer to the end of their top-level peaks than the start. Dean Huijsen, who moved in recently, is a younger option — promising, but he isn’t a finished product. So it makes sense for Madrid to line up more potential successors. Van de Ven checks several boxes: age (24), physical traits (height and speed), and the modern defender’s skill set (comfortable on the ball, quick recoveries).
Strategically, he’s attractive because he’s adaptable. He can play in a high line, cope with high pressing, and also step into midfield lines to help build play. That matters at Madrid, where center-backs are often involved in the first phases of attack. Plus, being relatively young, he has room to develop — and Real often prefers to buy a player who can serve them for years rather than patch a short-term need. There’s also the matter of profile: he’s younger and, many would argue, more in line with what Madrid now seeks than some other defensive targets they considered earlier.
Now, this is not a done deal. It never is. Madrid are the kind of club that tracks players for seasons — they calculate, they wait, they probe. If van de Ven continues to grow and avoid long injury layoffs, the interest will likely move from “watching” to “serious consideration.”
The Tottenham problem — and money talks
Tottenham aren’t going to give him up easily, obviously. He signed a long contract that runs until 2029, so Spurs are in a secure position. No release clause is the kind of detail that forces negotiating room. Reports suggest Tottenham value him at around €80 million. That’s not pocket change. Would Real pay that? Maybe. Would Spurs accept? Probably only if the offer matches their valuation and lines up with their long-term planning.
It’s worth pausing on the price tag for a moment. €80 million sounds big, and in many cases it is. Yet for a top club looking for a center-back who can anchor the defense for a decade, such sums become less dramatic. It’s a matter of perspective. Still — Tottenham have reasons to hold firm. Losing a young, key defender when you’re building a team is disruptive. Spurs could well decide to keep him unless the offer is irresistible, or unless the player himself signals a desire to move on. That, too, matters in these cases: player preference can tilt negotiations, sometimes more than money.
There are other wrinkles. Van de Ven has had some minor injury niggles in the Premier League. Not career-threatening things; rather, small issues that have kept him out now and then. Madrid will factor that into any future plan. Do they want to risk paying big for a player with a slightly shaky fitness history? Or do they trust medical and coaching teams to manage him? They’ve made similar judgments before — sometimes paying for a perceived ceiling, sometimes not.
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I’ll admit — I find this kind of chess game between clubs interesting. Madrid’s reputation for eventually getting who they want is real, but it doesn’t happen overnight. They plan, watch, and then act when the timing and finances fit. Spurs, for their part, aren’t naïve. Keeping van de Ven helps their stability. Selling him for the right price could fund moves elsewhere. So both clubs have levers to pull.
A personal aside: watching a promising defender like Van de Ven grow is oddly satisfying. Defenders don’t always get the spotlight, but when one combines athleticism with reading of the game, you can see the future shape of a team. It’s like noticing a young tree that will one day shade a whole garden. You can’t quite predict the exact canopy — but you can sense it.
Expectations and what might happen next
If Van de Ven keeps improving this season, the noise will grow louder. Madrid will probably intensify their scouting and might open talks internally — not necessarily to buy immediately, but to set the table for 2026 or later. Spurs will keep their stance: he’s theirs for now, unless €80m — or something close — arrives with convincing terms.
There’s also the human side: players change their minds, coaches change systems, injuries shift timelines. Any of those could accelerate a transfer or bury it indefinitely. So while it’s easy to make confident claims, the truth is messier. Real might want him, Tottenham want to keep him, and van de Ven himself might prefer stability. Or he might dream of playing at the Bernabeu one day. I don’t know his private thoughts — who does? — but those private wishes often matter a lot.
To wrap up: this is an interesting watch. Madrid are preparing for the medium-term, Spurs are protecting a valuable asset, and Van de Ven sits in the middle — young, promising, and likely to be linked with top clubs for as long as he keeps improving. If you enjoy the behind-the-scenes slow buildup of football transfers, this one is worth following.
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