Who is Micky van de Ven? Career stats, top speed, and Spurs song explained

He’s a speed demon, a rock at the back, and he even pops up with the odd special goal from time to time, but who exactly is Micky van de Ven?

Spurs have undergone a real transformation defensively since Ange Postecoglou took over, and one of the most important and exciting additions to the squad is that of Micky van de Ven.

The Dutchman joined Tottenham from Wolfsburg last summer and rapidly established himself as a key figure in Postecoglou’s backline.

He’s impressed many since arriving in the Premier League with his athleticism and composure, but there are still many questions to answer when it comes to Tottenham‘s number 37. So, here’s everything you need to know about Micky van de Ven.

How fast is Micky van de Ven?

Micky van de Ven is officially the fastest player in Premier League history, clocking a top speed of 37.38 kilometres per hour (or 23.22 miles per hour).

He registered that speed during the 3-2 win over Brentford in January 2024. The record was previously held by Manchester City’s Kyle Walker, who hit a top speed of 37.31 km/h in May 2023.

Comparing van de Ven’s speed to Usain Bolt’s 100m world record, the Spurs man is close, but not quite close enough — Bolt clocked in at 23.35 mph in 2009.

Fans will likely remember seeing a clip online of van de Ven from his Wolfsburg days prior to him joining Spurs, where he raced the length of the pitch to put in a block and prevent a certain goal in an open net.

Micky van de Ven’s market value and contract

Micky van de Ven’s current market value is £45m, which means Spurs paid pretty much exactly the right price for him, as his transfer is reportedly worth £43m including add-ons.

That market value is according to Transfermarkt, and the transfer details come via Sky Sports. The initial deal to sign van de Ven cost Spurs £34m.

As always with these price tags, it is very likely Spurs would want a lot more for van de Ven if they were to sell him. Given his age, his potential, and the fact he still has five years left on his contract, you’d probably be looking at double the market value to snare him away from Spurs.

His current contract ends in June 2029 and, according to Spotrac, he is paid £2.6m a year or £50,000 per week. That actually puts him towards the lower end of the wage bill at Spurs, though his earnings are on par with fellow defender Radu Dragusin who moved to Tottenham from Genoa.

The perfect partner for Cristian Romero

Before van de Ven arrived at Spurs, Cristian Romero regularly let himself and the team down by displaying ill discipline and wildly erratic behaviour. Since pairing Romero up with the Dutchman, a wonderful partnership has flourished.

With van de Ven being left-footed, he provides the perfect compliment to Romero in the heart of the Spurs defence. He’s also a calming presence, with his ball-playing ability, pace and physicality, and composed demeanour appearing to help Romero settle and play his best football.

The two defenders are the ideal central defensive partnership for Tottenham and Postecoglou‘s system, and van de Ven has proven to be a brilliant signing for the Lilywhites.

In his debut 23/24 season in the Premier League, van de Ven scored three goals and played 27 times. He missed nine games after suffering a hamstring injury in November’s clash with Chelsea, and Tottenham struggled without him.

He’s already made a decent start to this season, too, pulling out an incredible assist against Everton when he ran the entire length of the pitch before passing the ball to Heung-min Son.

Spurs chant explained

Tottenham fans sing a special song for Micky van de Ven to the tune of ‘Give It Up’ by KC and the Sunshine Band.

You can check it out in the video below, but all you need to know to spark your memory for this one is, the lyrics are: “Na na, na na, na na na na na na na… Micky van de Ven, van de Ven, Micky van de Ven.” Either that made perfect sense to you, or you think we’re talking nonsense.

It’s a song the Spurs fans also used back in the day for Spurs legend Rafael van der Vaart. Must be something about Dutchmen at Tottenham being perfect for this song.

Some Tottenham fans have also utilised the 1981 track ‘Mickey’ by Toni Basil. Pretty self-explanatory that one, given his name.

Where did Micky van de Ven play before Spurs?

Micky van de Ven started his career in his native Holland with WSV 30, before working his way through the ranks at FC Volendam. He joined Wolfsburg in 2021 and spent two years there before moving on to Spurs.

The defender made 86 appearances for Volendam from youth level to the senior team, but it was his move to Germany that really helped him take his game to the next level.

At Wolfsburg, van de Ven made 41 appearances, scoring one goal and adding three assists (Transfermarkt).

He has started to make an impression at international level since joining Spurs. Van de Ven currently has eight senior caps for the Netherlands, having made his debut in October 2023. He played a bit-part role as his country made it to the semi-finals of Euro 2024.

Micky van de Ven’s personal information and family life

Micky van de Ven is very tall, coming in at 1.93m, and he weighs 81kg, making him an imposing physical presence.

He was born in Wormer in the Netherlands on April 19, 2001. In an interview with the club, van de Ven called Wormer his “happy place” and said he loves being there with his family.

His father, Marcel van de Ven was once an undercover agent but is now a popular Netherlands TV personality, becoming the lead detective on Dutch series “Hunted”.

Van de Ven is on Instagram, where has just under 500,000 followers. He does have an X account but has not used it since 2021.

Why does Micky van de Ven wear number 37?

It may be unusual for a first-team player to wear a number like 37, but van de Ven has a good reason for this decision: it is to commemorate a childhood friend of his who passed away.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, van de Ven said: “With a friend of mine, he passed away when we were younger, and it was always his favourite number. So, when I had the opportunity to choose No 37 when I signed for Tottenham. To be honest, it’s for him.”

Spurs fans have predicted that, when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is officially off the books next summer, van de Ven will take up the more traditional number 5 shirt at the club. He wore that number at Wolfsburg and may well opt to use it once more.

For more on the Tottenham first-team squad, check out our guide on what each Spurs player is worth. You can also read about the greatest Tottenham Hotspur legends, too.

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